For My Kingdom
by Reece Champion
Summary: Two years after summer froze, Anna and Kristoff are marrying. Every VIP in Arendelle and other allied kingdoms are attending. Elsa, still single, receives a lot of pressure to marry as well to provide Arendelle with a king, so the kingdom will remain strong. However, as Elsa's stress peaks, a dark and dubious plot is unfolding that the softhearted queen may not survive...
1. Gifts for a Princess Bride

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter One:**

**Gifts for a Princess Bride**

It was a glorious day for a wedding. As Elsa looked down from her bedroom window upon the preparations a smile played across her lips. The kingdom had been abuzz over the engagement since it was announced a few weeks prior. Foreign dignitaries would most certainly be present, though it should still be a fun as well as a momentous occasion. Even the servants setting up the décor for dinner (which was to be outdoors, as it was a gorgeous midsummer's afternoon) seemed thrilled for the royal wedding.

In Elsa's hands rested an elegant blue box wrought with silver trim. She looked down on the little trinket. It had been a gift from her mother on her eighteenth birthday, the year she and Elsa's father died at sea.

"Elsa?"

She turned around, torn away from her thoughts, to look at her sister. As Anna stepped out from behind the partition, Elsa's breath was taken away. She always knew that her little sister was beautiful, but in her wedding gown she was absolutely stunning. Her ginger hair was braided and wrapped around her head and her gown was a pristine white with a train that stretched out several feet behind her. Resting upon her brow was an intricately woven garland of myrtle leaves: a representation of the young woman's enduring innocence.

"How do I look?" Anna flushed pink and glanced down at her feet.

At her sister's flustered appearance, Elsa realized that she had just been staring and hadn't said anything. "Oh Anna..." a bright and gentle smile lit her eyes, "You are beautiful."

Anna looked back up at her sister and smiled in return. "Thanks, Elsa." she took a step forward to embrace her sister, but rather got her foot entangled in the train and with a shrill yelp, stumbled forward into her sister who subsequently caught her and narrowly avoided tumbling over herself like a pair of well-dressed, royal dominoes.

Elsa chuckled as Anna's cheeks once again began to glow. "Watch yourself, dear."

Anna grinned with embarrassment and giggled.

Elsa drew her sister up into her arms and held her tight for a moment. "I have something for you..." She said quietly and pulled away from Anna, holding out the blue box.

A brief expression of confusion and curiosity crossed Anna's face as she looked down at the heirloom and back up to Elsa. "What is it?"

Elsa smiled and placed the box in her hand. "It was our mother's... It's old... and it's blue..."

The young bride slowly flipped the catch and opened the lid and in a soft, red, velvet bed there laid a silver, man's ring on a chain. Polished to perfection, Anna could see the seal of Arendelle engraved upon it. It was their father's.

"Now that, that is borrowed. It belongs to whoever is king. However, as there is no king," Elsa grinned slyly, "it's not a problem for you to wear it on a necklace for your wedding, and though it isn't exactly new, I had it polished to look thus."

With a steady hand, Elsa lifted the ring from the box by its chain. Anna bowed her head to allow her sister to slide it over and around her neck. When she looked back up at her older sister, the ring rested at the center of her chest.

"Elsa, I…" Tears leaked from the grateful princess's eyes and the open box trembled in her hands.

Wiping away her sister's tears, Elsa smiled humbly. "There's more." Deftly, she removed the velvet pillow from the box and what lay beneath it were two coins: one silver and one gold.

Anna's tears began to overflow as she swept a finger over the faces of the coins. Traditionally, they were meant to be gifts from the father and mother of the bride, to symbolize that she would never "go without."

Softened evermore by her sister's reaction, Elsa continued in a softer voice, "The gold one is from me… As for the silver, Kristoff reintroduced me to Grand Pabbie, the troll chief who healed you so many years ago. He was more than happy to provide."

With great solemnity, Anna shut the box and set it on a table by the window. Lacking words, all she could get herself to do in that moment was wrap her sister in the warmest of hugs and whisper, "I love you, Elsa."

Elsa squeezed her as tightly as she dared, to avoid wrinkling the gown, and said, "I love you too, Anna. More than anything."


	2. Princess Anna Bjorgman of Arendelle

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Two:**

**Princess Anna Bjorgman of Arendelle**

The hall of the chapel was filled with joy and fervor as the many guests waited for the ceremony to begin.

As queen and maid of honor, Elsa stood before the room of foreign dignitaries, advisers, friends, and more than a few trolls, with her head erect in immense pride. Her gown, selected by Anna, was a soft, pastel yellow with wide, bell sleeves of white lace that reached just a few inches above her elbow. It was a summery ensemble selected just for that reason. Over the previous two years, Elsa had garnered the nickname of "The Snow Queen" throughout Arendelle as well as neighboring lands due to her ability to conjure up snow and ice at will (and sometimes unintentionally). However, Anna wanted to convey that her sister wasn't so cold and distant as the name suggested. In fact, since Elsa has learned how to control her powers after the debacle of a snowy summer, she had spent an exorbitant amount of time and energy making up for the thirteen years with her sister she had lost while hiding in fear of her powers. The number of snowmen they built was... astronomical.

The doors at the end of the hall opened. Every head in the audience turned as they stood to greet the bride and groom and the choir began to sing. Anna appeared even more beautiful with her arm linked with Kristoff's than she had earlier that afternoon. Her cheeks were flushed pink as she occasionally glanced sideways at her very-soon-to-be husband, her eyes lit with adoration and glistening with tears that had yet to be shed.

Kristoff certainly never seemed happier in the time that Elsa has known him than he did right at that moment, walking down the aisle with his true love. He cleaned up nicely in a tuxedo. Though his lineage was less than royal, you wouldn't be able tell that at all by looking at him, let alone that he was raised by trolls.

Next to Elsa, standing on a tall table, stood Kristoff's adoptive-father, Cliff the Troll. He was the one who had tried to marry Kristoff and Anna the very first day they met, and he could not look more thrilled even if he had the word stamped across his forehead. The book in his hands that had the words that he was going to say for the ceremony shook ever so slightly and his ear-to-ear grin looked such that Elsa was somewhat concerned that his face would get stuck like that if he didn't start talking soon.

Anna and Kristoff stepped up the two stairs onto the low platform. Sharing a meaningful smile with her sister, Anna handed her the large bouquet of wildflowers and gave her a low curtsy. Elsa inclined her head in return and they both turned to look at Cliff whose face had become earnestly happy rather than ridiculously elated.

"Are you ready?" Cliff whispered.

The couple looked at each other and smiled, nodding.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the bonding before God of Kristoff Bjorgman and Princess Anna of Arendelle in holy matrimony." Though Cliff was small, his voice carried loudly across the entire hall.

He turned to Kristoff first, "Before Almighty God and these witnesses in attendance, I ask Kristoff Bjorgman: Will you take Princess Anna of Arendelle to be your wife and love her in distress and joy?"

Kristoff stood straighter and responded, "Yes."

Cliff's smile broadened and he turned to Anna, "Before Almighty God and these witnesses in attendance, I ask Princess Anna of Arendelle: Will you take Kristoff Bjorgman to be your husband and love him in distress and joy?"

"Yes."

"If any party in the congregation sees reason as to why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Silence enveloped the audience.

"Kristoff Bjorgman and Princess Anna of Arendelle, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Cliff looked sideways at his son, winked, and said, "You may kiss the bride."

The couple looked at each other, and with a moment of tenderness between them, Kristoff wrapped an arm around Anna's waist and laid one on her.

While the dignitaries and Anna's friends clapped politely on the right side of the hall, the trolls on the left whooped and hollered with elation. Sven the reindeer, who was sitting in the front row on the trolls' side, practically howled in pleasure of seeing his best friend married. Elsa grinned and tossed up a ball of white into the air above her brother and sister, causing a small amount of white snowflakes to rain down on the kissing couple.

When the couple finally separated, they turned to face the witnesses, beaming triumphantly as fresh snow began to speckle their hair and coat their shoulders.

Cliff continued, "I now present to you, Prince Kristoff Bjorgman and Princess Anna Bjorgman, of Arendelle." He slammed the book shut unceremoniously and shoved it up into the air above his head, looking toward his fellow trolls. "They did it! They finally did it!"

The hall exploded into a flurry of merriment as the trolls rushed forward to embrace the couple. Elsa released the flurry so it dissipated into the air and was embraced herself by several of her new cousins.

The bells of the church rang out joyously and everyone was happy.


	3. A Problem

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Three:**

**A Problem**

The wedding party was being held under a huge, white canopy just outside the main hall of the castle. Two guards stood outside the entrance flaps allowing only those with engraved invitations inside, though not many people had not received an invitation. Just inside the tent, thirteen large tables were set around it in a U-shape where people sat and mingled and ate. In the center of them all was a dance floor where couples would go up and party to the music of a small, upbeat orchestra located at the front of the tent just to the side of the entrance.

At the curve of the U sat Kristoff and Anna. Elsa and the snowman Olaf (with his personal flurry ever-present) sat to Anna's left while Cliff and his wife Burda sat to Kristoff's right. Every adult from the troll clan sat in the six tables to the side of Kristoff while the dignitaries and citizens of Arendelle (in no particular order) sat to the side of Anna.

The party had been going for hours. The only ones left on the dance floor at this point were trolls, Olaf, and Sven the reindeer. All of the trolls adored Olaf, taking every chance they could to dance with him. Sven, on the other hand, was doing just fine on his own. Being the largest creature on the floor, it was a miracle no one was trampled.

A long train of servants entered the tent with glasses of champagne just as the last song was coming to an end. Once every attendee had received their glass, Elsa stood, picking hers up and gently tapping it with the prongs of her fork. With the three small _ting_s, the room hushed and everyone turned to look at the queen. Elsa smiled and greeted, "Welcome, everyone. Today we are celebrating the marriage of my sister, Princess Anna, and a dear friend, Kristoff Bjorgman."

A smattering of polite applause came from the attendees and musicians.

"And," Elsa continued, "now, after several hours of revelry, I think it is time to start the speeches to the bride and groom with a toast." She turned to Anna and Kristoff and held up the champagne glass. "Anna, my sister. I can't even begin to describe the warmth that has filled me over the course of the past fortnight while planning your wedding. For thirteen years of our lives, I was... absent. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. I should have been there for you then, and I know I may never fully recompense for those lost years, but seeing you now, married to this wonderful young man, makes me happy beyond measure and lifts some of the guilt I've been drowning in since the first time I refused to help you build a snowman." Though her voice remained calm and collected, a few stray tears streaked down Elsa's cheeks. Blinking away any unshed tears that might have attempted escape, Elsa looked to Kristoff. "Kristoff, Kristoff, Kristoff..." Elsa chuckled, followed suit by the courteous laughter of the audience. "Of all the people, princes, lords, and dignitaries included, that could have married my sister, you are the one that I am proudest of all to be able to call my brother. Though no one could possibly be worthy of my sister, you definitely come closer than any other man I've ever met." Kristoff smiled and winked at Elsa, who grinned in return. "Thank you, Kristoff, for making my sister happy."

Turning to the center of the room and facing the guests, Elsa lifted her glass toward them, pronouncing proudly, "To the bride and groom!"

"To the bride and groom!" everyone else repeated, standing, in a loud chorus and everyone drank from their champagne glass.

Elsa took a polite gulp of her champagne and moved to sit back down when breathing began to come with great difficulty. The glass of champagne froze in her hand, the liquid turning from clear to an ominous black. Seeing this, the queen lost her grip and the glass fell, shattering against the cobblestone.

"Elsa?" Anna stood and wrapped her arms around her sister. Elsa began to cough violently, flecks of blood landing before her on the white tablecloth. "Elsa!" Anna shrieked.

Suddenly everyone in the tent began to panic. "Somebody get a doctor!"

"The queen has been poisoned!"

"Quick! Somebody help her!"

Elsa was bent over the table, her hands gripping it tightly and ice began to spread from her fingertips across the table.

"Lay her on the ground," Kristoff said as Grand Pabbie emerged from the side.

"Elsa... Elsa, it'll be okay... Oh god..."

As Anna began to lay the writhing woman down, she suddenly went limp. "No, no! Elsa!"

Kristoff took over Elsa from Anna, who had begun to tremble uncontrollably, and laid her on the cobblestone, Grand Pabbie stood above her, resting a heavy hand on her forehead. Anna knelt by him, staring down at Elsa with tears in her eyes. Flecks of blood stained the front of the yellow gown.

With a grimace of concentration, Grand Pabbie seemed to pull mightily at something invisible hanging over Elsa. With one final tug, what looked like a black cloud seemed to escape from Elsa's lungs. The troll chief removed a glass vial from a pocket and deposited the black cloud into it, stoppering it with a piece of cork.

He turned to Anna and Kristoff, who were both holding onto each other tightly, Anna with her face buried into her husband's chest. "The queen will live," he said. Anna looked at Grand Pabbie. "She must rest. I removed all remnants of the poison, but it was no ordinary toxin. There was dark magic within that I do not recognize. She will need rest immediately if she is to return to her duties as soon as possible." He looked down at the queen and brushed a strand of her blonde hair from her face. "Princess Anna, I think it'd be best if you were to put up all the guests in rooms in the castle. We must find out who did this. I'm afraid the party is over."


	4. Awakening

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Four:**

**A Not-Fun Awakening**

_Elsa was standing high above the kingdom of Arendelle in a flawless castle of ice. A blizzard raged all around her and the kingdom below was covered in white. Her hands held lightly to the wall of the veranda, and though the wind whipped her hair and gown about, she did not feel the cold. She turned her back to the shivering town and walked back through the double doors into the castle. Closing the door gently behind her, she noticed at the center of the room an ice sculpture of expert workmanship. As she approached the sculpture, she began to notice little details. The sculpture was that of a woman, the train of her dress trailing behind her and a circlet of flowers laid over her carefully carved hair. _

_A biting chill suddenly began to nip at her exposed face, neck and hands. As she circled the sculpture to view the face of the woman, recognition began to flood her veins with an icy burn. "Anna, no!" she gasped, placing a hand on either side of the sculpture's face. Tears began to streak down her face, but they froze into trails of ice before they fell. _

"_Elsa!" _

_She spun around to see the source of the voice and saw Kristoff standing in the doorway, dressed in the regalia of a prince with a drawn sword in his hand. "You froze her heart, Elsa. How could you? Your own sister." _

_Elsa began to shiver violently in the cold. "No, Kristoff, I didn't do this..." She wrapped her arms around herself, in an attempt to protect herself from the cold, but saw that her hands were slowly turning to ice. Looking back up to continue to plead with Kristoff, she discovered that it was no longer Kristoff that stood before her, but Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. _

"_I saw it happen, Queen Elsa. You killed her." Hans' voice was cruel as he stepped forward, raising his sword. _

"_P-Please..." Elsa collapsed to her knees, watching as ice slowly began to climb up her arms. "No..." _

Elsa's eyes flashed open and she felt as if she had been thrown into a sauna. Her skin was slick with sweat and her white-blonde hair clung to her forehead. She attempted to throw off the covers and sit up, but a gentle hand was placed against her chest, lowering her back down to the mattress.

"Shh, it's okay, Elsa. You're safe." The soothing sound of her sister's voice calmed Elsa's soul to it's very core. Anna pulled the covers back over Elsa and began dabbing her forehead with a cool, damp cloth.

"Anna..." Elsa muttered, unable to speak much louder than a whisper. "Anna, what happened?"

Anna continued to dab with the cloth. "Elsa..." She sniffed and laid the cloth over Elsa's brow so she could lean over her and hold her as tightly as she could. She began to sweat from the heat that emanated from her older sister. "You almost died."

Elsa could feel it as her sister's chest was wracked with sobs. Removing one hand from beneath the blankets, she combed through Anna's hair reassuringly. "It's okay, Anna. I'm alive."

The woman's sobs intensified. "Someone... Someone poisoned your cup... Grand Pabbie... He saved you."

"What?" Though Elsa had known her cup must have been poisoned, it wasn't until then that she fully realized that someone, a person, had attempted to take her life. "I must... I must speak to Grand Pabbie... Thank him." She began to get up again, but Anna's hand pushed her back down.

"No," Anna ordered, wiping away tears and still breathing shakily. "Pabbie says you must rest. You've been unconscious for two days and you're burning up. We must wait for the fever to break before you are to leave this room."

The door to the bedroom swung open and a guard entered the bedroom. Anna turned to look at him quickly, startled. "Princess Anna, I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have found the servant who served the poison to the queen. He was discovered on the docks late last night attempting to flee."

Anna stood, her face very grave. "Where is he now? Has he said anything?"

"No, ma'am. He's in the castle dungeons."

"I will see him."

"Your highness, I don't..."

The rest of the conversation blurred together into a fog as Elsa slipped back into an uneasy and very sticky sleep.


	5. Treason and Plot

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Five:**

**Treason and Plot**

_**Author's Note: Artemis is now Faust!**_

The pathway to the dungeons was a winding one that Anna seldom traveled. Perhaps once she had explored around there as a child, but she never went past the armed guards that barricaded the entrance to where the prisoners were kept. Once she and her escorting guard past the entrance to the main part of the dungeon, the bright lanterns that lit the halls turned into bare torches that clung to the stone walls.

Not many of the cells had occupants. Arendelle was known to have a very low crime rate; the worst crimes the kingdom was prone to were petty theft and fighting.

The would-be assassin was being held in the cell farthest from the entrance. Another guard stood just outside it.

Her escort addressed the guard asking, "Has he said anything yet?"

The guard shook his head. "Not word." He looked at Anna briefly and muttered, "Are you sure it's a good idea to let him talk to her?"

"Not at all," the escort replied. "But..."

"But I insisted." Anna interrupted, annoyed at being talked about like she wasn't there.

"Of course, your highness." The guard bowed slightly and turned to unlock the cell door. It was just light enough inside to make out a shadowy figure sitting in the corner, his eyes seemed to bore through her as she entered the small room and the door was shut and locked behind her.

Anna stared right back at the man, half hoping to find something in his eyes to explain why he would try to murder her sister.

"You tried to kill the queen," she said, her voice heavy with contempt.

"I did," he replied, the tone of his voice was flat; it was as if it meant absolutely nothing to him that he had very nearly committed murder.

Anger boiled in the princess's veins, but she worked hard to maintain control of her emotions. "You realize that that is an act of treason to the highest degree, for which you will most certainly be hanged."

The man in the corner shrugged. "Yup." He shifted his position so that he was sitting more properly to face Anna. "Is there a point to your pointing out the obvious, princess?"

Anna's eyes narrowed. "Why?" The one-worded question was sharp and angry.

An unamused chuckle emanated from the corner. "Ha, the princess asks why. Well, to be perfectly honest, I was being paid a lot of money to do so."

Anna had to steel herself to hide the horror that began to fill her heart. "Who was paying you?" What she really wanted to say was, _"Who would want Elsa dead?"_

He laughed again, thoroughly amused now. "Well I guess that is something you'll just have to figure out on your own." He smiled. "It shouldn't be too difficult though. Who has Elsa angered in the past couple years? Should narrow down the possibilities a little."

Two names instantly came to Anna's mind. Weselton and Hans.

"Oh, and don't worry," he continued, his smile widening. "There will be more where I came from. You might want to have someone tasting her majesty's food. You might even want to keep several guards with her at all times. Though, then again..." He mocked thought. "I don't know who you can trust, and hell, if I don't know..."

Anna was on her feet and ready to pound him when the cell door opened. "That's enough," one of the guards ordered. "Your highness, you should return to your sister."

The man fell into silence with a sinister smirk touching his lips. Anna looked at him one more time, fear gripping her, before she pushed through the men outside the door and stormed out of the dungeons.

The guard that had escorted her down had to run to catch up with her. "Your highness, I think he was just trying to scare you. I don't think you should heed much of what he said. He's a slimy snake of a man."

Anna stopped abruptly so the guard nearly crashed into her and turned around to face him. "What if he wasn't lying? What if Elsa is still in danger?" Her emotions began to get the best of her as the fear and the anger began to drip from the corners of her eyes. "I feel like I just got my sister back... I can't lose her again."

He inclined his head respectfully. "I understand, your highness. I apologize."

"It's fine..." Anna curtsied slightly. "I guess I'm just... really worked up is all."

"Perhaps you should speak with your husband?" he suggested.

Anna shook her head. "No, I need to go to Elsa. However, if you could find him and send him up? I _would_ very much like his company."

"Yes, ma'am. Straight away."

"Thank you." Anna turned to walk away before turning right back around again. "What did you say your name was?"

"Uh, I didn't." The guard smiled. "It's Artemis."

"Oh. Thank you." Anna curtsied again. "Artemis." Without waiting for him to respond, she continued to walk to Elsa's room, millions of thoughts rattling inside her head like angry mosquitoes looking for blood.


	6. Warm Hugs Heal

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Six:**

**Warm Hugs Heal**

Elsa was half asleep when she heard a small commotion from outside her bedroom.

"I'm sorry, I can't allow you in," a guard ordered. Elsa started to fall back asleep, until she hear a familiar voice protesting loudly.

"But, but... I haven't seen Elsa in two days! Just because I'm a snowman doesn't mean I don't have feelings!"

Elsa's eyes widened. "Olaf?" she muttered to herself, slowly sitting up and pushing the covers away. She stood shakily and walked to the door in her nightgown, opening it with the intention of scolding the guards. How many snowmen get to walk around the castle anyway?

The guards spun around instantly as the door opened. "Your majesty!" they cried out simultaneously.

Olaf poked his snowy white head between them and said, "Hi!"

Elsa opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly began to feel weak, swaying slightly on the spot. She had to grip the side of the doorway for support to keep from falling.

The guards took her arms and led her back into the room, their faces deeply concerned. "You mustn't exert yourself, your majesty. You're not strong enough."

"Let Olaf in... please" she managed to whisper as she was helped back into bed. It wasn't quite the rebuke she had in mind, but it had the desired effect.

"Yes, your majesty."

The little snowman scuttled in as quickly as his short little legs would carry him, his flurry following dutifully behind. Too vertically challenged to see above the bed, Olaf brought over a mid-sized chest and pushed it next to the bedside. He clambered on top of it so that he could talk to Elsa.

"Hi!" he said again, a bright smile on his face.

She smiled back weakly. "Hi."

"You know... you don't look so good" he said, pushing back some stray strands of her hair with a wooden hand.

Elsa let out an amused _hm_. "Don't feel too good either," she replied. "How have you been?"

Olaf looked her very seriously in the eye. "Worried about you..."

"Oh." Elsa frowned for a moment, but looked fondly back at Olaf and reached up to caress his ice cold cheek. "You're a wonderful friend."

"You're so warm!" he commented happily as her hand touched his face.

Elsa withdrew her hand quickly. "Oh, sorry."

"No," Olaf rested his twig arm on her hand where it lay on top of the blankets. "I like it!" He grinned. "You must be able to give the warmest hugs. Can I have a hug?"

Elsa smiled warily. "But what if you melt?"

He shrugged. "It'd be worth it. Besides, you'll be able to fix me." His grin widened.

Though not sure how much freezing she'd be able to do in this condition, she didn't have the energy to argue the matter further. A hug from a man made of snow sounded nice anyway. It was so hot in there.

Elsa slowly sat herself back up and held her arms out invitingly to the small snowman who jumped right into them. She wrapped him up in a friendly embrace, and just as she was about to let go, something magical began to occur. From the open window, a cold breeze entered the room speckled with snowflakes that glittered in the morning sunlight. She gripped the snowman tighter as the snowflakes began to swirl around them faster and faster until Elsa couldn't see a thing other than whiteness. It was like the two of them were trapped in a mini blizzard.

After what seemed like hours, the blizzard finally deteriorated into the air. Elsa looked up curiously as it evaporated then looked back down at Olaf and about had a mental heart attack. "Oh... kay..." she took a steadying breath as he looked back up at her.

"What?" Olaf asked, his oh-so-familiar smile still on his lips. He looked around the room as if he missed something (which he did.) "Is it warm in here to you?" He looked down at his body, his face not changing a bit. "Oh snap."

"Oh snap" was right. Sitting in Elsa's lap was Olaf the snowman, but he... Well, he wasn't a snowman. In her lap was a full grown, about five and a half foot tall, man. Though he still looked somewhat like Olaf, he was now, unbelievably, human. Elsa averted her eyes upward toward the heavens, embarrassed. Whatever magic did this to Olaf, didn't give him clothes.

"Did I miss something?" he asked, his head, now covered with wavy, dark hair, cocked to the side.

"Mmh, yeah," Elsa replied, getting slightly uncomfortable with the full grown, naked man now sitting on her lap. "Could you uh..." She made a waving motion with her hand, signaling him to get off.

"Oh, yeah! Sure!" He slid of her lap and stood unsteadily by the bed, not sure how to stand on such long legs with such a different center of gravity.

Careful not to look anywhere other than his face, Elsa climbed out of bed, completely bewildered and walked over to the door. She opened it a crack and peered out at the guards. "Hey, guys?"

The guards turned around and saw her looking out the door. "Yes, your majesty?"

She coughed quietly. "Um, could you call up some clothes? To fit a, uh," she looked back at Olaf briefly. "A fit, five foot six, man?"

The guards looked at her funny as if she were speaking a foreign language. "Is something wrong, your majesty?"

She laughed nervously, "No, no... Just bring them, would you?"


	7. Queen Elsa of Arendelle

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan fiction**

**Chapter Seven:**

**Queen Elsa of Arendelle**

When Anna finally approached the room, she stopped and took a deep, calming breath. Seeing her sister so ill for the past two days had been really hard on her. However, as she drew closer to the bedroom door, guards standing dutifully at either side of it, she heard hearty laughter from within. She recognized Elsa instantly, and shortly thereafter, Olaf. She smiled, Olaf must have been cheering her up while she was gone.

The guards let her through without a word. Before she had arrived they had made a wager as to whether or not she would faint once she realized what had occurred in her absence.

Anna entered the room and immediately stopped short. Elsa was no longer in bed, rather, she was sitting in one of the several chairs in the corner of the bedroom, fully dressed with her hair done in her usual single braid lying over her left shoulder. Olaf was no where to be seen, instead a man she didn't recognize, with dark, wavy hair sat across from the queen, facing away from the door.

Elsa looked up as her sister entered the room, a bright smile on her face. "Anna!" she called out.

Elsa looked two hundred percent better than she had when Anna had left earlier that morning, leaving Anna pleasantly confused. "Hi," Anna replied, approaching her sister and the man. She couldn't take her eyes off the man who turned around to smile happily at her. His smile was infectious and she couldn't help but smile back. "Who's this?" she asked, gesturing at the man.

The queen smiled shyly and the man stood from his seat, bowing to princess Anna. He was short (only about as tall as she was), but well-built and well-dressed in clothes that might have been worn by a duke or a lord.

As the man straightened from the bow he smiled again and said in a freakishly familiar voice, "I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

Anna's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. From her vantage point across from the two, Elsa was practically dying of laughter on the inside, though on the outside she was barely holding it behind her grin. It had taken her a bit, but Elsa finally managed to accept the fact that though Olaf had transformed, he was still the same old Olaf. Now, it was Anna's turn.

Anna looked at her, shocked. "Did I miss something?"

Elsa shook her head slowly, her grin widening until it almost hurt. "Yeah," she said in a high pitched voice, almost losing her grip of the laughter that was pent up inside her. She had never felt more happy, not even at her sister's wedding. The funny thing was, there was really no reason for her absolute elation. Everything was a mess and confusing, but the smile on her face was stuck there like nothing in the world was wrong.

Shaking her head, Anna tried to push away the bizarre turn of events and look seriously at her sister. "Elsa, we need to talk."

Elsa's good mood vanished about as quickly as it came at the tone of her sister's voice. Memories of earlier that morning, the nightmare, and the wedding party rushed into the forefront of her mind. She stood and straightened her gown. "Of course, Anna."

Olaf smiled awkwardly, looking from one solemn woman to the other. "I'll just step out for a bit." With unusually long strides, he exited the room.

Anna sat down across from Elsa. She looked exhausted. Elsa sat down as well, suddenly concerned for her sister.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes before Anna could bring herself to say, "Elsa, you're still in danger."

The queen's heart sank as fear began to prickle in her chest. "What?" She tried to laugh it off, not wanting to believe it. "But we have the man responsible..."

"He wasn't acting of his own accord..." Anna continued, playing nervously with one of her braids that hung over her shoulders. "He was being paid off by someone... I don't know if you're thinking of the same possibilities as I am..."

She was. The nightmare brought Hans to the forefront of her mind, not to mention the fact that it wouldn't have been the first time he had tried to kill her. However, she had worried somewhat when she ended all ties with Weselton that it might come back to bite her, though she never imagined that it might end up like this. She had thought it might affect the kingdom economically, maybe, but she never dreamed that the obnoxious duke would seek revenge.

"Are the dignitaries who were present at the wedding still in Arendelle?" Elsa asked, her eyes were far away as she fell into deep thought.

"Yes. They have been staying here in the castle while the investigation was being held." Anna replied, curious as to what her sister had in mind.

"I need to speak with them. All of them. My advisers as well. The sooner, the better. Can you arrange that?" Elsa's eyes returned to the present and looked to her sister, a glint of determination in them.

"Of course, Elsa. Might I ask what you have in mind?" Anna was slightly surprised and concerned at the sudden resolve that had appeared in her sister's visage.

Elsa's head was held high and her nobility was evident. She truly was a queen in every aspect. "I am merely going to assert my current position and politely request a statement from each of our allies as well as counsel from my advisers. I'm afraid this situation might have shaken our allies' faith in the strength of our kingdom. It would mine."

Recognizing the conversation was at an end, Anna stood and curtsied. "Yes, your majesty." Elsa didn't respond at first, her face grave and calculating.

Anna turned to leave, the queen still deep in thought, but as she opened the door to step out, she heard her sister's voice call out to her quietly.

"Anna?" She turned back around to find her sister looking almost sadly at her. "I love you."

Anna gave her a soft smile. "I love you too, Elsa."

When she walked out she noticed the guard to her left pocketing something with a satisfied smirk, while the other guard just looked exasperated. Only minimally curious as to what that was all about, she continued to do as she was asked, her mind reeling with what Elsa could possibly be planning.


	8. Olaf's Journey

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Eight:**

**Olaf's Journey**

_**Author's Note: Athena and Artemis are now Charlotte and Faust!**_

After leaving the pair of royal sisters to their own devices, the now-human snowman discovered the craziest thing. His stomach growled at him angrily. He was hungry.

Since previously he had had no digestive system (or any sort of system, for that matter), the sensation was foreign and intense. He recalled seeing the people eating huge plates of delicious looking food in a big hall on the ground floor of the castle, and so he headed that direction looking around in fascination. Everything suddenly looked and felt different then it had when he was made of snow. He was surrounded with a warm blanket of air instead of being shielded from it by Elsa's flurry.

When he was a snowman, everyone seemed to turn as he walked past them. He'd always smile, wave, and say hi to them, but now as he walked through the corridors it was like he was invisible. He was no longer a walking, talking snowman. Nothing horribly interesting about another human guy walking down the hall. Olaf had to admit to himself, he kind of liked it. It was an interesting change, and variety certainly was the spice of life.

When he entered the dining hall, there were several groups scattered about across the room, sitting at different tables and eating what looked like a dark, heavy piece of bread and white, mushy stuff.

A butler was waiting by the door and approached him. "Sir, dinner for the guests and royal family doesn't start for another two hours. However, if you're hungry, the kitchen specialty today is meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Is that satisfactory?"

It would seem that Olaf blended in nicely with all the foreigners staying in the castle. The butler didn't even ask who he was! He just assumed he was a guest! "That sounds...!" he started out in his normal manner of speaking, loud and happy, but stopped abruptly. In an attempt to appear more lordly, he continued in a low, formal voice, "wonderful."

"Please have a seat wherever you'd like and your food will be brought to you momentarily." the man bowed slightly and went to, presumably, alert the kitchen.

Olaf, not being the sit-alone type, scanned the groups of people in the hopes of finding one that may allow him to sit with them. Most all of them were in deep conversation and didn't even seem to notice him as he walked past. The only group that seemed quiet enough to join was actually a pair. A man and a woman, (a guard and a maid, he guessed according to what they were wearing) were sitting together at a table. For the most part it appeared they were eating silently, but every once in a while they would exchange a couple words.

He strode confidently over to the table, but once he was only a few feet away he slowed down and nerves started to kick in. He took a couple more steps forward and cleared his throat. The man, to whom he was closest to, looked up while the woman took a drink from her cup.

"May I join you?" Olaf asked with a hesitant smile.

The man looked at him, mildly surprised that a clearly high bred man would want to sit with them. "Please do." He gestured to the side of the table opposite him and the woman.

"Thanks." Olaf took a seat and looked at the couple.

The man was the first to speak. "I'm Faust," he proffered his hand across the table which Olaf shook. "And this is my sister Charlotte."

"Those are interesting names." Olaf replied, and a meal of the dark, heavy bread and white, mushy stuff was set before him. It smelled delightful. He took a bite of the bread looking thing and discovered that it tasted a lot better than it looked.

"What about you, stranger?" Faust asked, only playing with his food at this point. "What are you called?"

Olaf swallowed the bite in his mouth before he finished chewing, nearly gagging. "O...cean." He smiled hesitantly. If he had told him his name was Olaf, would they associate him with the snowman that he was just earlier this afternoon and freak out?

"Ocean? Like the large body of water?" the man chuckled.

Olaf, codename: Ocean, laughed as well. "Heh, yeah."

"You from out of town? I don't think I've seen you around here before. Did you come in for the wedding?" Clearly Charlotte's cup had run dry and she was ready to participate more fully in the conversation.

"Um... Yeah..." Olaf took a sip from his own cup now, awkward as he spewed out his fantasy.

"Where are you from?" Faust asked, finally pushing away the half finished plate of food so he could rest a burly pair of folded arms on the table.

"Ice...land."

"Iceland?" the man replied, turning to look at his sister. Olaf shook in his boots, waiting for them to tell him that they had never heard of such a place. "That's an island up northwest isn't it?"

If he had still been made of snow, Olaf would have melted right on the spot with relief.

"Yeah, yeah." Charlotte nodded her head in agreement. "So what are you up there, Ocean? What brought you to the wedding?"

Olaf smiled with a bit more confidence. "Oh, just an ambassador." He shrugged. "None of the royal family could make it, so I was sent to represent them." He was almost shocked by how smoothly the lies fell from his own, new, human lips.

"Have you been to Arendelle before?" Charlotte asked, now looking intently at him.

"Yeah, but, unfortunately I haven't gotten to see a lot of it." This much was true. Even for the two years that Olaf had spent in Arendelle after his creation, he mostly got to know the inside of the castle rather than the village outside.

"Maybe..." Faust started, but Charlotte waved him quiet.

"Maybe I could show you around when you have the time?" she asked, her eyes alight with something that made Olaf uncomfortable.

"Uh, sure!"

"How about tonight? After the banquet? You can meet me just inside the castle gates. Arendelle under the glow of the lanterns is really quite a sight," Charlotte suggested excitedly.

Olaf smiled uncertainly. "Sounds great."

"Well, I'm done. What about you, Faust?" she looked to her brother expectantly.

"Me too. Well, Ocean, I'm sure I'll see you around. Enjoy your meatloaf." The two stood and left the hall, leaving Olaf feeling slightly confused, looking at his meal, and asking himself, "_Meat_loaf?"


	9. Fear Will Be Your Enemy

_**Author's Note: The new chapter is actually now chapter 8. It's an Olaf-devoted chapter. Sorry for the confusion. :)**_

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Nine:**

**Fear Will Be Your Enemy**

The throne room, in which Elsa usually met with her advisers and citizens of Arendelle, now contained three times as many chairs and sitting on each one was, hopefully, a friend of the kingdom. It was mid to late afternoon and the room was rather warm. Without anyone else knowing, before she entered the room she sent in a small current of cool air. Perhaps if they were more comfortable they would be more likely to help her.

She nodded to a small man by the door who then announced, "Queen Elsa of Arendelle." Everyone in the room stood.

Elsa's heart was pounding fast in her chest as if it were trying to escape as she walked across the platform and stood before the throne and before her allies. For a moment she only observed them as they watched her silently, trying to gauge what they were feeling. "Thank you," she began after a deep breath, "for meeting with me on such short notice." She glanced morosely to her left where Anna should have stood. She had wanted to attend as well, but Elsa felt bad for postponing her and Kristoff's honeymoon, so instead she insisted that Anna spend time with her husband. "I'd like to apologize for this delay in your journeys home, but as you are aware, complications have arisen in regards to my safety as well as the safety of Arendelle. I cannot allow these to continue. I'm sure you would all agree."

At first she was once again greeted with silent stares, but after a moment, the duke of Wales on the second row raised a hand. Elsa nodded towards him and he stood. The gazes of the audience fell from Elsa to him in a heartbeat.

"Queen Elsa, has it been discovered who was behind the attempt on your life?" All eyes were on the queen again.

"The man who served the poison is currently being held in the castle dungeons, having admitted guilt of his crimes. However, we have reason to believe..." She swallowed a lump forming in her throat. "That he was acting under the authority of someone else, and that this is only a first."

An unintelligible murmur rippled through the audience, sending pangs of distress into Elsa's heart. Second in line to his throne, the young prince of Denmark stood in the back of the room, quieting the restless dignitaries. "Your majesty, with all due respect, if you were killed, what is the plan of action then? Princess Anna would inherit the throne, yes, but though she is a lovely girl, is she ready to take on the throne?"

The question stabbed at Elsa, almost physically hurting her. "I believe my sister, though somewhat unorthodox, would make a great queen."

This time it was one of her older advisers, Sir Thomas Rehm, who stood. "Your majesty, you know I have known you and your sister for most of your lives and that I have grown to care deeply for each of you, but I must agree with Prince Alexander. Should your reign come to an unfortunate end, your sister is not ready to take your place." The criticism of her sister was hard for Elsa to absorb. It took an inordinate amount of self-discipline to refrain from rubbing her temples in frustration. "And since," he continued, "despite the urging of your counsel, you have thus far refused to consider even _courtship_ with a man to possibly rule at your side..."

Sir Rehm trailed off and sat and another man just behind him stood. "Queen Elsa, if you do not marry how do you intend to provide Arendelle with an heir?"

"Is it not your duty to marry?"

"You _must _provide your kingdom with an heir!"

Suddenly half the room was standing and shouting things at her. "Please, settle down..." A river of anxiety began to pulse through her veins like an icy slush. She could feel the ring on her right hand turning cold, looking down at the silver band she saw that it was now frosted with ice.

Biting down hard on her lip, she hid her hands behind her, grasping them tightly, and said as loudly and commandingly as she could without shouting, "I will marry!"

The chaos petered out and died as everyone looked surprisingly at her.

"I will marry," she repeated gazing tiredly at the people before her. "And if any of you have any ideas as to with whom I should entrust my kingdom, please come forward as soon as possible." She heaved a sigh and glanced longingly toward the door. "Until then, you may return to your rooms."

Without another word, she walked back across the platform and through the door. Tears flooded her cheeks like a dam had broke as she forcefully removed the frozen ring from her finger and clutched it in her hand. It burned her skin almost as if she were holding a flame, but the pain cleared her head just enough to consider her plan of action. The flow of salt water increased dramatically when she realized just how pitiful it was.


	10. My Sister's Gonna WHAT?

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Ten:**

"**My Sister Is Gonna... WHAT?"**

As the warm, summer sun descended over the horizon, Anna and Kristoff laid next to each other on a grassy knoll just outside the castle gates. Their hands were entwined as they watched the day begin to disappear into twilight.

Anna sighed contentedly as she snuggled closer to her husband, using his chest as a pillow. "I feel like I would lose myself in the sky if you weren't here with me," she muttered as he wrapped an arm tightly around her.

"Quite frankly, I wouldn't blame you. In fact, I'd be happy for you." Kristoff kissed the top of her head and stroked her braids. "You've been under so much stress the past couple of days... With Elsa..."

Anna groaned with exhaustion. "Please don't talk to me about that. It's too..." She rolled over onto her stomach so her face was flat against the ground. "Distressing." Her voice was muffled in the grass.

Seeing his wife's obvious displeasure, Kristoff rolled over on his side so he could look at her dejectedly prone position and rub her comfortingly on the back. "I understand, love, but hey! She's safe now, isn't she? We got that low-life traitor behind bars and soon he will no longer be a problem."

She didn't tell him what that low-life traitor told her in the dungeons earlier that day, and suddenly she felt guilty, but not enough to tell him. She lifted her chin up and rested it on her folded arms. "Heh, yeah... I guess so."

Not convinced, Kristoff lifted a hand to push Anna's crimson bangs from her eyes and lightly turned her head toward himself so he could look into them. "I'm not buyin' it," he teased gently and kissed her lips. "What's wrong? What do I not know?"

Anna sighed sadly and rested her forehead against his. "Elsa... Elsa could still be in danger."

Kristoff pulled back quickly, startled. "What?"

"Your highnesses! Your highnesses!" An older woman, Kara, who had been Elsa and Anna's caretaker since they were toddlers, was running haphazardly towards them from the castle, her heavy bust bouncing awkwardly with every cumbersome step.

"That's so weird," Kristoff muttered to Anna, referring to being considered a 'your highness' now.

Anna laughed. "Try dealing with it your whole life."

Kara was not laughing when she reached them. Her chest rose and fell heavily when she stopped in front of them to catch her breath. "Princess," gasp, "Anna," gasp, "Prince," gasp, "Kristoff, you must," gasp, "come." Gasp, "The queen..."

The princess's heart seemed to skip a beat. She was on her feet so fast she felt dizzy for a moment. Kristoff was up too and he steadied her, but Anna was forward with her hands resting urgently on the five foot three woman's shoulders. "What, Kara? What happened? Where's Elsa?!"

For the most part, the woman had stopped hyperventilating, though she was still breathing somewhat heavily. "Elsa is fine..." She took a brief moment to breathe. "She's in her bedroom, but..."

"But what?!" Anna didn't bother to conceal her fear and frustration.

"But, Anna, she's... she's getting married..."

Anna's fear and frustration magically transformed into a look of confusion and what-the-heck-just-happened. She stepped away from Kara and appraised her for a moment, trying to figure out if she was pulling her leg. "Wait, what?" She turned to look at Kristoff who also looked rather confused. "To whom?"

"That's the thing, your highness..." Kara looked her sadly in the eyes. "She doesn't know."

In a blind rage. That's what Anna was as she stormed through the castle and up the stairs to the corridor where Elsa's bedroom was. She stopped in front of the door and the guards, and rather than pay the guards any attention, she cried out, "Elsa! Let me in!"

Elsa's voice was quiet and miserable through the thick, wooden door. "Go away, Anna."

"No." Anna shook her head violently, biting down on her lower lip. "No! You are not going to do this to me again!" Her voice broke. "Let me in! Let me help!"

There was silence for a long and unendurable moment. The young princess couldn't prevent the tears from trickling down her downcast, freckled cheeks. Elsa wouldn't do this to her again. She wouldn't shut her out at a time like this! She couldn't.

From within the bedroom, Elsa sighed shakily. Her breath rose before her eyes in a ghostly mist of white. "Come in then," she replied, quickly wiping away fresh tears with the silken sleeve of her gown.

The door opened and Anna was hit with a blast of frigid air. As she stepped inside what could very well have passed as the most luxurious meat locker in the world, her heart began to break apart into fragments, bit by icy bit. "Elsa," Anna gasped. Her bedroom was transformed from a warm place of solace into a frozen fortress of solitude, with the responsible party sitting in the far corner of the room, crestfallen, with her knees held tightly against her chest. The queen's eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying for hours.

Anna couldn't get to her sister fast enough. Collapsing on the floor next to her, she shivered and wrapped her arms around Elsa. "It's okay. They'd understand."

The "they" that she was referring to was their father and mother.

"I promised..."she muttered. "We both promised... to never marry for any reason other than true love..." Her voice was fractured and broken. Guilt and pain riddled every syllable and every inch of her face revealed her agony.

"Oh Elsa..." Anna held her tighter. "Your true love right now is your kingdom. If anyone could understand that, it'd be the king and queen."

The queen looked up at the ceiling for a moment, her eyes welling up with a new round of tears, then turned and buried her face in her sister's shoulder. The sobs rolled through, unimpeded by any kind of pride or queenly restraint. In that frozen room, the two sisters clung to each other like they were kids again, afraid of the dark night beginning to close in around them.


	11. The Suitor

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Eleven:**

**The Suitor**

After a lot of coaxing, Elsa finally managed to thaw out her bedroom. However, it was nothing like when she thawed summer. That warmth flowed through her like water down a mountain. This time it was more like honey. Slow and sticky, she had barely managed to melt the ice encasing her things when someone knocked softly at the door.

She looked to Anna, her eyes wide and afraid, who nodded encouragingly for her to open the door.

Elsa took a steadying breath and rolled her shoulders back, taking on a cool, imperial demeanor befitting of the Snow Queen. Her fingers wrapped around the door handle and she pulled it open as normally as she could get herself to do. She had expected to find one of her advisers, probably Sir Rehm, outside her bedroom, so it came as quite a shock to find Prince Alexander of Denmark, dressed for the banquet that would be beginning in the next half hour, instead.

"Your majesty." The prince bowed, his back perfectly aligned.

"Your highness..." Elsa returned the bow with a curtsy, just managing to keep the surprise out of her voice.

He cleared his throat quietly. Was it nerves? "Please, call me Alex."

The queen smiled incredulously. "Then you can call me Elsa."

"Heh..." Alex rubbed the back of his neck and gripped the white gloves that he held in both hands.

"To what do I owe this honor... Alex?" Elsa could have compared the awkwardness in that moment to the time she witnessed two squirrels making love when she was kid and asked her caretaker, Kara, what they were doing. This, however, was much worse.

Prince Alexander closed his eyes and let out a sharp breath. When his eyes opened, Elsa could see a change there: from an awkward young man to a prince.

"May I be frank with you, Elsa?" he asked.

She was slightly taken aback by the question (a prince? Be _frank_?), but curious nonetheless, she nodded and said, "You may."

"As you probably are aware, I am second in line to the throne in my kingdom." Elsa found this an odd way to start a frank discussion, but she continued to listen. "There is very little responsibility on my shoulders because of that fact. I mainly give the occasional speech, give advice, and attend events like your sister's wedding. There is, however, an expectation of me to marry, which I have yet to accomplish. It is also desired that I marry into a throne." Elsa watched him carefully and skeptically as he spoke. "Up until earlier this afternoon, I must admit the idea was not... preferable. I have always somewhat considered myself a... well, a lone wolf." He chuckled a little at that before returning to his serious attitude. "Seeing you today, Elsa... Clearly you have been avoiding marriage for so long, but seeing you today... Promising your court and allies to marry someone, _anyone, _to protect your kingdom... It was inspiring. In Denmark, I'm not just a poster prince. I've led armies into battle. I've worked as a diplomat between nations..." He shifted his weight in slight discomfort. "Well, to cut to the chase, we may not ever really love each other, but I think I could be a good king to your people, and a good husband... to you. Now, my adviser who attended with me thought he should ask this of you, but..." He shook his head. "I didn't think it'd be right." At this point, Elsa's face seemed to be frozen into an appearance of aloofness. "Elsa," he took to one knee, "I'd like to ask for your hand in marriage."

Elsa's frozen mask broke as she cocked an eyebrow. "Prince Alexander," she began, slightly patronizing, "I know we have met, but I do not know you. My sister tried to marry a prince after one day before, and do you know what happened?"

The prince stood quickly, but remained silent and stoic.

She continued, "I froze summer. So, if you would like to court, I shall agree to that, but if you think I am daft enough to marry you right on the spot... Perhaps it'd be best for you to not waste my time or yours."

"Your majesty," he fumbled with words. He had expected a couple different reactions, none of which were that. "I apologize for my forwardness... I did not mean to imply that you were daft... I am willing to accept courtship for as long as your majesty sees fit."

"Excellent," the queen replied with a manufactured smile. "I expect I shall see you at the banquet then."

"Yes, your majesty. Goodbye, your majesty..."

"Goodbye." As Elsa closed the door, she could see the appropriately reproved prince walking away with his head in his hands. She couldn't contain the chuckle after the door clicked shut. She looked at Anna who was sitting in the chair across the room who was grinning like a fool.

"What was _that _all about?!" she asked, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest." Elsa rolled her eyes and walked back to Anna and sat in the chair across from her, laughing lightly.

"'I froze summer'!" Anna imitated and giggled happily. "Elsa, have I ever told you how awesome you are?"

The queen grinned. "Perhaps you can stand to mention it a little more."

Anna sat forward and looked at her sister with mock sincerity, "Elsa, you are awesome." She then smiled and rushed forward to hug the queen.

"Hey," Elsa replied, hugging her back tightly, "I don't monopolize the awesomeness in this family."

Rolling her eyes, Anna looked toward the door. "We probably should head down to the banquet. Maybe we can beat Prince Fancy-Pants."

"Alright." Elsa chuckled. They stood together and left the room. It was such a relief to be leaving in such high spirits compared to when she entered, though she couldn't quite convince herself that she was happy.


	12. More Complications

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Twelve:**

**Can Things Get More Complicated? They Can Indeed.**

_**Author's Note: Artemis is now Faust!**_

Anna and Elsa did arrive before "Prince Fancy-Pants," not that it really mattered. They were to be last to enter the banquet hall anyway. A curly haired maidservant, Jenny, approached the queen and princess and curtsied. "Your majesty," she began, "your food and beverage will be tested and tasted as it comes out to you, to ensure your safety."

Elsa tilted her head forward in response and said, "Thank you, Jenny, but that will not be necessary."

Jenny looked at the queen in shock, Anna's face echoing hers. "Your majesty?"

"I will not allow anyone to risk their lives to save mine." Elsa held her hands delicately behind her back. "Besides, poison failed once already, and the culprit is in prison waiting to be tried for treason. Whoever might be next will know better than to repeat their predecessor's mistakes." Elsa was very stern and rather upset that her servants thought they ought to risk their lives to prevent her from being poisoned again. Her life isn't the only one with value.

The maidservant curtsied again. "Yes, your majesty." She walked back to the kitchens, presumably to let the other servants know what the queen said.

Elsa turned back to face the double doors. On the other side, the attendees were entering from another location and taking their seats.

Anna looked at her sister with great concern etched into her pretty, freckled cheeks. "Elsa? Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Anna," she began, deliberately looking away from her. "I've appeared weak enough already. If I allow servants to taste my food before I eat and one of them dies, their blood will be on my hands. Not the assassin's." Elsa sighed heavily. "No. No one is going to die for me."

"But," the princess was beginning to feel angry, "If you die, Elsa... What will happen then? Can you really leave your kingdom like that?"

"If I die, Anna..." Elsa had to steady herself. She couldn't say that she was scared of death per se, but what did frighten her was being taken before she felt she had really made up for her past mistakes. She still had a ways to go. "If I die, you will make a fine queen. Don't you ever doubt that for a second." What Sir Rehm said in the meeting earlier that afternoon suddenly made her angry. "You are kind. You are just. You can rule. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Anna bit her lower lip and wrapped the queen in a tight embrace. "Nothing is going to happen to you, Elsa."

A small smile appeared on Elsa's face as she hugged her in return. "Of course not."

As the sisters were being affectionate, a guard, who Anna recognized as Faust from earlier that day, cleared his throat.

"Your majesty," he began. Elsa released her sister to look at him. "All the guests are in their seats."

"Alright," she replied, straightening her back and shoulders. "We're ready."

He nodded and knocked quietly on the double doors. They were pulled open from the inside by two men, revealing the guests sitting at the long table decorated with a pure, white tablecloth and ambient candle light.

"Queen Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle."

The room stood as Elsa and Anna entered the room. Elsa took her seat at the head, while Anna sat next to Kristoff, who had entered with the guests as he was not technically of royal blood, on her right and Sir Rehm on her left (she tried to ignore the fact that Prince Alexander sat immediately to _his_ left).

Elsa smiled and glanced around the table at some of the familiar faces. The princess of Corona and her husband (born a commoner, like Kristoff), who Anna was fairly well acquainted with, sat not far to Anna's right. Though she was not as familiar with the couple as her sister, Elsa did rather enjoy their company. The princess had a short, spunky bob of brown hair and both she and her husband were almost always at the lead of good, comical conversation. Elsa always made sure they had an invite to everything (they also were good about keeping an eye on their neighbor, Weselton).

"Hello, everyone." Elsa greeted the guests with a gentle smile, determined to appear not as wound up as she has been.

Some of the guests smiled, responding with, "Your majesty."

The queen continued, "I'm glad to see you all made it, and once again I apologize for keeping you away from your homes a little longer." She smiled apologetically. "But I do hope that you are finding yourselves comfortable." She gestured casually around the room. "Please feel free to come by the kitchens whenever you want should you find yourselves in need of a snack. Or, if you're getting a little cooped up, I find that a walk around the castle grounds or the village always helps me stay grounded and at ease."

Elsa inclined her head regally, turned, and waved in the servants who were carrying platters of warm food. "Now, I don't know about any of you, but I'm hungry."

Before everyone, was set a plate of the first course, which was a green salad, as well as a glass of red wine. Jenny placed Elsa's plate and goblet (not glass, like at the reception, banquets were considered more formal occasions, requiring that she use the gold relic). She was about to depart with the other servants when the queen rested her hand on her arm, signaling her to stop.

"Please, stay..." she muttered quietly to the maidservant.

To Jenny's everlasting credit, she didn't ask why. She only nodded her thick, brown, curly head and said, "Yes, your majesty."

Elsa exhaled, picked up her salad fork, and began to dig in to her salad. The greens were crisp and amazing, and with every bite she gained confidence, but her goblet of wine remained untouched for the entire first course.

Between courses, there was about a fifteen minute delay. This was time to chat, as no one wants to accidentally talk with their mouth full. The first person to speak as the salad plates were being taken away was, unfortunately, Prince Alexander of Denmark.

"Queen Elsa," he began, turning slightly in his seat to face her. Elsa was fighting a losing battle to keep from rolling her eyes, so she closed them briefly instead. "How are you feeling this evening? Are you well?"

The queen stared blankly at her goblet for a few seconds before looking up at the prince. "Yes, your highness. I am well. However, a banquet is hardly the time to bring up such matters." Though she made an honest attempt to keep a smile on her face, her voice was chill. This prince was not making a good impression on her at all as an acquaintance. Much less a potential husband. Though he was handsome and surely meant well, his behavior was rather off-putting.

"I apologize, your majesty, I am merely concerned for your welfare." He took a sip of wine from his glass.

Who knows how far over the edge Elsa had been already, but something in her brain seemed to explode right at that moment while watching Prince Fancy-Pants drinking without a care in the world from his glass.

The reins on her tongue broke and for the first time in years, Elsa spoke exactly what she was feeling. "I'm sure you are, Prince Alexander. Everybody in this room seems to be. However, _your highness, _the only person who has asked me how I am since I woke up from a poison-induced coma this morning has been my sister; and to be perfectly _frank _with you, I would have rathered it _stay that way." _Though she struggled to keep her tone even, in spite of the scathing words, the guests in the room stared at her, shocked. Her hands trembled from underneath the table, the curse wanting to be unleashed, but she wasn't done yet. "I know you're not next in line to the throne in Denmark. You may be expected to marry into a throne, but I really hope that before that happens you grow up. The point of being a ruler, Prince Alexander, is to be strong. Even if you don't believe you are, you need to look it. People asking you _if you are well _in front of everyone that is important to them when they know fairly well that they are not is a _terrible thing _for them to do. If you want to ask, do it privately, not in front of the largest gathering you can find."

The room was as still and quiet as a tomb. Elsa was never much of a drinker, preferring to keep her faculties in check, but her faculties were out the window by then and she needed alcohol. She reached a shaking hand over to the goblet and put it against her lips when she heard the most offensive thing she thought she could ever hear coming from under the prince's breath. "Okay, god, chill out..."

The goblet froze instantly. She set it down delicately and looked at Alexander, everyone else was too. Apparently Elsa wasn't the only one who was certain she was offended by being asked to 'chill out'. Elsa had to laugh, in spite of everything. "With all due respect, your highness."

"Your majesty..." Jenny interjected quietly, but the queen didn't hear her.

"That was the poorest choice of words I think I've ever..."

"Your majesty!" Jenny said again, louder.

Elsa took a deep breath and turned to look at Jenny. She rubbed two fingers across her brow, exhausted. "Yes?"

The young woman gulped and whispered, "Your... your wine..."

Not thinking much about it, the queen looked down at the frozen goblet. The crimson liquid had frozen into a solid black. Her heart stopped. She stood up with the goblet in hand and, without another word, exited the room with Jenny on her tail. Anna half stood as they left, genuinely confused.

Once the door was shut behind them, Elsa leaned heavily against the wall and slid down it so that she had her knees against her chest.

Jenny stood over her now, distress and concern playing clearly across her face. "Your majesty, I swear I didn't..."

"I know, Jenny... I know... You've been in this castle for as long as I can remember... Your parents were good friends of the king and queen..." Her voice shook as she glanced down at the goblet.

"Your majesty..." Jenny began, a look of guilt played across her face. "I must confess... I disobeyed your orders..."

Elsa looked quickly up at Jenny, knowing instantly that she meant she had tasted the wine. "What? Then how can..." She stood up quickly and opened the door to the banquet hall, completely frazzled. Every last person at that table turned to look at her. "Anna..." she began, trying to regain some semblance of dignity. Her sister stood up quickly. "Can I get you out here please? And if you would... bring your glass as well? Is there still wine in it?"

Anna picked up her glass and walked briskly toward the queen. "Yes, your majesty."

The princess managed to keep her confusion off her face, at least until the doors shut behind her. "What's wrong, Elsa?" She was still quite startled about her sister's rampage and abrupt exit.

"May I see your glass?" Elsa held out her hand. "Please?" Anna handed her the half-empty glass of wine. It froze instantly as she clenched the glass in her fists, the red wine turning black as starless night.

Anna gasped and Elsa closed her eyes. The queen's lips trembled frantically and the ground beneath her began to freeze. Snow rained down from the ceiling and the corridor's temperature lowered dramatically.

With one swift and powerful move, the queen shattered Anna's glass against the wall across from her. The frozen, black liquid fell to the floor like black snow. "No one must know." She said quietly, her fit of anger over. The snow ceased to fall and the ice began to melt as quickly as it came.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, slowly approaching her.

Elsa held up a hand to prevent Anna from coming any closer. She was too fragile right then. Too dangerous. "Tell only a few trusted guards... I will be freezing and unfreezing my drinks from now on... Clearly it only affects me and shows itself when it is frozen." She took a shaky breath. "Whoever is doing this... They aren't going to rest until I'm dead."

Tears streaked freely down Anna's cheeks. "Your going to be okay, Elsa..."

"I must marry." Elsa sighed, resigned. "I'm sorry, Anna, but despite my strong belief that you would make a good queen, most of our allies do not agree."The hurt on Anna's face, though she tried to hide it, hit the queens heart like a heavy mallet. "I am afraid that if you were to become queen, Arendelle would be vulnerable. Not because of you, but because of lack of support behind you." Elsa wrapped her sister in the tightest of hugs. "I must do this... for my kingdom."

Anna buried her face in her sister's shoulder. "I understand, Elsa."

Without letting go of Anna, the queen looked at Jenny. Would you please invite Prince Alexander to go horseback riding with me tomorrow morning? Around 8? Also, please send him my deepest apologies for my behavior tonight. He really did nothing wrong. I was in a bad place."

Jenny curtsied. "Yes, your majesty."

"Thank you. And if you would have some food sent up to my bedroom, that would be wonderful. I will not be returning to the banquet tonight." Elsa finally released Anna who looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "It'll be okay, Anna." she said, wiping stray tears from her sister's cheeks. Lies never tasted so bitter in her mouth.


	13. An Entry From the Diary of Princess Elsa

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**An Entry from the Diary of Princess Elsa of Arendelle**

_**Author's Note: **__Didn't want to do a thirteenth chapter (superstitious… Freaked out Monday morning when a black cat ran in front of my bike on my way to the bus…) so I thought I'd do something different in the place of a thirteenth chapter. Hope you like it! _

Thursday, June 7, 1674

Dear Diary,

Anna knocked on my door again today. Sometimes I really wish she'd stop, but then again, I'm glad she misses me… And maybe I'm a narcissist for thinking this, but the fact that she's worried, I guess, makes me feel more like I matter? I don't know. It's been 8 years… I'm surprised she hasn't just forgotten about me.

Last night I cried myself to sleep… again. Needless to say, I woke up on a block of ice instead of a pillow. I hate that. God, I hate myself… Why does this keep happening to me? Why can't it just _stop? _I've tried everything I could think of… Warm thoughts… Warm milk… One time I didn't even get out of bed for two days. I kept having Kara bring in warm blankets, but they chilled faster than she could bring them.

I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it. My mother says it'll pass. Father says I'll learn to control it. How though? I don't even know where to begin learning to fight this curse. I vaguely remember what that troll said when he saved Anna… "Fear will be your enemy," whatever that means. Is fear not _everybody's _enemy?

I don't know. I just don't know. Sometimes, at night, I'll sit on the balcony under the stars… They're so pretty. I could lose myself in them. When I was a kid, Kara would tell me stories about people up in the stars who died a long, long time ago. When I die, will I be a star? That would be nice. I could finally be beautiful, instead of destructive. I've frozen my bedroom four times in the past week… Then again, maybe they don't let monsters be stars.

It's late, and my candle is dying. There's not much left of the wax, it's melting basically into oblivion… It must be good to be a candle. You get to burn bright and warm, and provide light all the way up until you can't anymore and you just die.

I wish I could be a candle.

Anyway, I should go to bed. Good night.

Elsa


	14. Conspiracy

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

_**Author's Note: **I think it's time to reveal the villain, don't you? Did you guess? Or was it a surprise? BTW, Athena and Artemis are now Charlotte and Faust! _

**Chapter Fourteen:**

**Conspiracy**

Charlotte stood just inside the gates as promised. Night had fallen completely and the only light came from the lanterns and stars. There was no moon. Not having had the opportunity to participate in helping serve at the banquet, she headed down early so she could stargaze. She brushed her white blond bangs from her eyes, and out of the corner of them she noticed a man walking casually toward her. She hadn't expected "Ocean" to arrive so soon, but upon closer inspection she realized it was Faust. Smiling, she kicked off her shoes and sat down on the cobblestone, resting her back against the wall.

"Hello, brother," she said, returning her attention skyward. Her hands rested delicately in her lap.

"Sister." Faust responded, taking a knee before her so that he was more at her level. He looked around the courtyard and up the wall. "I have news."

Hearing the preoccupation in the man's voice, Charlotte's eyes lowered from the heavens to see that his face seemed concerned as well. "So soon?"

"I'm afraid so." He bowed his head slightly, almost as if ashamed.

"_Afraid _so?" Though she kept her voice even and innocent, her eyes radiated an otherwise well-hidden anger.

"The queen lives." He looked hesitantly up at the dangerously reserved woman. "And she has come to recognize that the poison will only work on her. She has now said she will freeze all her drinks before she will touch them."

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Well that was an expensive batch of magic wasted."

"I apologize... She was about to drink, but some fool at the banquet seemed to touch a nerve. She froze the goblet before having a chance to so much as taste it." His gaze moved downward again.

The woman clicked her tongue with disappointment. "Elsa, Elsa, Elsa... Someone needs to learn to control her emotions better. Not befitting of a queen to go about freezing things willy nilly." She lifted a petite, pale hand and rested it on the man's chin, tilting his face upward so she could touch her lips against his.

Faust shuddered as an icy chill seemed to slither from his lips and into his chest.

Smiling lovingly, she gazed into his eyes with every ounce of seduction she possessed, her skin never breaking contact with his. "I'm growing tired of these games... Aren't you?"

He nodded slowly, a glazed look seemed to take hold of his expression.

Gently running her fingertips over his neck, she continued, almost in a cooing voice. "That witless little snowman should be arriving any minute... The queen must die."

The glazed look began to fade from Faust's eyes as she pulled her hand away, returning it to her lap. He nodded again and replied, "How? When?"

She smiled back and and rested her head against the wall, resuming her stargazing. "Tomorrow night," she said. Faust was stunned, but he didn't say a word to question her. "You will go into her bedroom while she is asleep, you will take your sword, and you will drive it through her chest. Preferably her heart." As she voiced the murder to her comrade, she could see it all happening as clear as day in her mind. Her heart leapt with cruel delight.

Faust nodded and stood. "Yes, your majesty." He turned sharply on his left heel and walked back toward the main hall.

The woman sighed tiredly and combed her fingers through her boyishly cut hair. She couldn't stand it when it was long.

With another attempt failed, she probably couldn't expect that Olaf would come out to her. He would be worried and remain with the queen. Standing, she brushed the dirt off of the skirt of her ghastly servant's gown and began heading back toward the castle, her mind deep in thought.

Queen Elsa... How she had managed for so long was mystery. She hid from public and even _private _eye for thirteen years. She froze _summer _after her coronation for goodness sake! How is she in the good graces of her people? She doesn't even know the extent of her own power... She can't even control it! In peacetime maybe, sure, but throw her in wartime and she was like dust in the wind: malleable. So whimsical. So... emotional. Emotions make you weak. This was a lesson the Snow Queen learned a long time ago. With seamless transition, Charlotte entered the castle. The _real _Snow Queen was left behind at the wall. Someday soon, though, she knew she'd be free.


	15. A Much Needed Wake-Up Call

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Fifteen:**

**A Much Needed Wake-Up Call**

Before Elsa had gone to bed that night, she received a note from Prince Alexander through Jenny, who had kindly delivered the queen's message to him herself. If she hadn't already been physically and emotionally spent, she might have been touched by the young man's response:

_Your Majesty, Queen Elsa,_

_I very much appreciate your invitation. I would be delighted to go riding with you tomorrow morning, eight o'clock. As for the apology, it is graciously accepted on the grounds that you forgive me as well for my oafish behavior the other day. It was indeed inappropriate given the circumstances. My use of the idiom "chill out" was quite poorly chosen. However, in my weak defense, it is a phrase that my older brother and I use a lot with each other, and I did not mean it to refer to, in any way, your unusual yet amazing gift. It was poor manners nonetheless and I apologize once again. _

_I am anxiously awaiting seeing you tomorrow morning. I will be sure to keep civil this time around. They say you can never have a second chance at a first impression, but I do hold a hope I will be able to somewhat redeem myself._

_Sincerely,_

_Prince Alex _

However, she didn't quite have the brain power available to her at the time to do much more than read the note, understand that she had plans the next morning at eight and crawl into her cushy and enveloping bed. Jenny would be responsible for ensuring that she would be up with enough time to get ready and meet Prince Alexander. She decided that she was going to try to limit her contact with the staff to Jenny and a few choice guards unless unavoidable. Not being able to trust very many people scared her.

ooo

_Elsa was once again standing high above the kingdom of Arendelle in a castle reminiscent of the one she had built when she first froze summer. A blizzard raged and the kingdom below was nearly invisible in the white-out. Her hands gripped tightly to the wall of the veranda. A bitter chill seemed to entrap her chest, though the rest of her felt just fine. She turned her back to the shivering world and walked back through the double doors into the castle. The wind slammed the doors behind her almost cracking the ice, but in the midst of the howling wind and the sprinkling of falling snow from the ceiling, she noticed at the center of the room a life-sized ice sculpture of a person. As she approached the sculpture, little details began to emerge. The sculpture was that of a woman. Her gown was not extravagant, but certainly that of royalty._

_As she circled the sculpture to view the face of the woman, recognition began to flood her veins with an icy burn. "Anna, no!" she gasped, placing a hand on either side of her sister's face. Tears began to streak down her face, but they froze into trails of ice before they fell. _

"_Elsa!" _

_She spun around to see the source of the voice and saw her parents standing together in the doorway. The king had his arms around the queen, who cried quietly at his side. "Elsa, you promised me you would control it."_

Dawn had just begun to touch the horizon when Elsa jerked awake the next morning. She had had another nightmare.

Wiping away tears, the queen sat up and tossed the covers on the floor. She sat sideways on the bed with her legs hanging over the edge and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't allow nightmares to upset her. They weren't real, just the product of a guilt-filled subconscious.

By the time Jenny walked in with a hot plate of breakfast and glass of iced tea, Elsa was fully dressed in an elegant, flowery, purple and green gown, with the exception of the still loosened bodice. Her elegantly crafted hairbrush was run through her slightly waved, silvery-white hair with ease by a petite, gloved hand. Hearing the door creak open behind her and seeing Jenny step inside through the mirror, the queen smiled and set the hairbrush down on the lacquered wood dresser. "Could you do me a favor and tighten my bodice, Jenny?"

Smiling, but not neglecting the unnerving return of the gloves that she hadn't seen in two years, the young woman set the breakfast tray down on a table next to the entryway and jogged lightly over to the queen and began to do up the bodice. "You're up early, your majesty," she remarked as she tied off the gown.

"Well, the sky was awake," Elsa joked with a fond, if bittersweet, memory of her and Anna's childhood. _"The sky's awake, so I'm awake, so we have to play!" _

Jenny chuckled. "Well, your majesty, I brought you a choice breakfast from the kitchen today!" Jenny said happily as she went back to grab the tray and brought it over to the dresser. "Fried eggs, sunny-side up as per usual, roasted potatoes, warm oatmeal, and a glass of amazing strawberry-peach iced tea." The queen didn't normally take her tea iced, but given the circumstances, Jenny thought hot tea might not have been suitable. Though she didn't know this, Elsa agreed and was grateful.

Elsa inhaled the scent of the food deeply and sighed delightedly. "Well, my dear, this both looks and smells amazing." Removing a glove, Elsa delicately plucked a piece of potato from the plate and popped it in her mouth. As always, delicious. "Thank you so much, Jenny."

Jenny smiled and curtsied. At eighteen years old, she looked mature enough to be Elsa's age. "You are very welcome, your majesty."

Curtsying in return, the queen smiled. "Is there anything that you know of that I need to take care of in the next hour before I meet with Prince Alexander?"

"Not to my knowledge, your majesty." Jenny started to curtsy again, but stopped when Elsa looked at her funny. "I think I'll take me leave now, my lady, unless you would like me to stay..." Her eyes flickered toward the tea, but Elsa brushed it aside.

"No, thank you, Jenny. You may go." The queen tossed her hair behind her shoulder and smiled.

Jenny curtsied again before departing, and Elsa turned to her tray. She eyed the glass warily and sighed whilst turning her attention to a now ungloved hand. Rubbing her thumb and forefinger together, a white frost began to sprinkle down onto the carpeted floor. With a shaky hand, she gently caressed the glass as if it were a newborn child. Slowly and deliberately, the tea froze as her fingers passed over it. The liquid retained its pleasant, pink coloring even in ice form.

She hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until she exhaled in relief. She ran her fingers over the glass once again and the tea thawed into a once again drinkable form.

Picking up the glass and bringing it up to her lips, it almost felt liberating to sip the ice cold beverage. Though she generally preferred her tea hot and black, the sweetness of the strawberry and peach seemed to heighten her awareness and made her feel less like she carried a castle on her shoulders. In that moment, it was probably the best tasting drink she had ever had.

Just before she was going to leave to meet Prince Alexander, her tray empty but for a few bites of oatmeal, the familiar five-beat knock of her sister came from the door. Elsa sighed. She was tired and felt suffocated. To say she felt put-upon would be an understatement. She was happy Anna was there, and she was happy her drink wasn't poisoned, but her heart weighed a ton with lingering anxiety and depression. Forcing a smile onto her lips, the queen opened her bedroom door to the red-headed firecracker, anticipating her usual upbeat, whizzing personality to shoot into her room on a tail of lightning.

Surprise and a brief spell of disappointment added weight to her chest when Anna only gave her a meek smile and said, "Hi."

"Hi," Elsa replied, tugging lightly on the top of her elbow-length gloves.

Anna bit her lip lightly, a sadness slowly rippling over her visage as if a pebble was dropped in her eye.

Deeply concerned and anxious, but not entirely sure what to do about it, Elsa said the only thing that came into her head. "Is something wrong?"

Without a single word in reply, Anna wrapped her arms tightly around her sister, trapping her arms against her sides. Elsa cringed slightly, flustered, but relaxed quickly as she pulled an arm free and wrapped it around the princess's shoulders.

"I'm worried about you, Elsa..." her sister finally confessed, not slackening her tight grip on the queen.

Though it came with great difficulty, Elsa managed a smile and tried to say something comforting. "I'm okay, Anna" was the best she could come up with as she rubbed her sister's back soothingly.

Anna stiffened for a moment, and pulled away from Elsa a little so she could look up at her. Confusion and anger were the dominant emotions on her face. "Are you wearing gloves, Elsa?"

Knowing full well that Anna was referring to her emotional state, Elsa decided to play dumb. She raised an eyebrow. "Yes? I'm going horseback riding."

"You've gone horseback riding plenty of times over the past two years and you never wore gloves." Anna stepped back and crossed her arms in front of her. She looked a lot like their father when she was being stern... "What's wrong, Elsa? And don't say nothing. That's a filthy lie."

The queen closed her eyes and sighed. "My emotional state is not stable right now, Anna. It's not safe. I need to take every precaution I can to keep from hurting people."

Anna's head shook slowly from side to side. "You're not dangerous, Elsa. You know how to control your powers."

"And how is that?" Elsa asked, with an unexpectedly sharp edge to her tone. "Don't feel? I tried that, Anna. I tried that for thirteen years. Either I'm happy and no damage occurs, or I'm miserable and anxiety-ridden and I end up freezing the fjord." A hand raised up to rest against her forehead. A headache was beginning to form as if someone was stabbing her in the skull. "I can't hide from my emotions. I'd have to remove any semblance of a heart or soul from my body. The best I can do is conceal it from others."

Anger welled up inside Anna. It was almost as if the past two years didn't happen and carefree, happy Elsa never existed. "And what will that solve? Elsa, you have a beautiful gift that people would give their limbs for..."

"Better they give away their heart... They wouldn't want it after being given this curse..." Elsa muttered, wrapping her arms protectively around her abdomen.

"Elsa," Anna placed both her hands heavily on her sister's shoulders. "You are a _good person. _It just so happens that a lot of really cruddy things have happened to you. That's _not _your fault! You're under a lot of stress. You're a queen with little back-up behind you and so many things are going wrong that you have no control over." She reached a hand up and brushed a stray lock of hair from her sister's downcast eyes. "You can push through this, Elsa. You don't have to live a life of depression and unfulfillment to be a good queen, sister, and woman." Anna's green eyes pierced right through Elsa's blue ones like lazer beams into her soul. Sometimes Elsa was surprised by just how mature little Anna was growing up to be. It gave her something that felt a lot like hope. "You already are. Now perk up and go meet Prince Fancy-Pants," Anna socked her sister in the shoulder playfully. "'Cause... erm..." Anna looked down guiltily at her feet. "You're late..."


	16. The Second Time Around

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Sixteen:**

**The Second Time Around**

As Elsa rushed out the door in a tizzy, a slightly perturbed Olaf appeared to replace the queen's presence. It took Anna a few moments to recognize the strange man in the doorway, but did manage to resurrect the memory of the previous morning before it became too awkward. Funny how she hadn't seen him since then... Where had he been?

"Hi, Anna!" he greeted happily in his usual, flambuoyant manner. His voice almost sounded strange coming from a human mouth. He bounced in the room like he had springs strapped to his feet just before the door shut and grinned at the princess.

Anna smiled adoringly. "Hey, Olaf." She brushed a truant lock hair from her eyes. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since yesterday morning."

The sweet smile on Olaf's face slowly morphed into something that looked more like sad embarrassment. "I was just walking around the castle. People treat me a lot different now than they did when I was a snowman." And he was also stood up by a pretty blonde girl named Charlotte, but that took more explaining than he cared to do.

The princess sighed. "I'm sorry. It's really quite strange what happened to you... I wonder what caused it."

Olaf raised his eyebrows in genuine surprise. "But, isn't it obvious?"

Taken aback, Anna shook her head a little as if trying to stir up an understanding. "Do you know what happened?"

The transformed snowman smiled again knowingly. "Well, Elsa had a fever right, so she was really hot? And I was a snowman, so I was really cold."

Anna nodded her head a little, still not really getting the big picture.

"So," Olaf continued, "we hugged, and while I like heat, I'm sure Elsa wanted nothing more than to be at a normal, cooler temperature. Now, I don't know a whole lot about magic..." He paused for a moment and shrugged. "But it seems to me like it would make sense that I absorbed her heat, healing her of her fever, and she absorbed my cold turning me into... well..." He looked down at himself awkwardly. "This."

When it was explained to her like that, Anna was shocked she hadn't thought of that earlier. There must have been too many other things on her mind to really give it much thought. In spite of it's unexpectedness, the safety of her sister had really dominated her thoughts for the past three days. "Wow, Olaf... That's a really accurate-sounding deduction."

Olaf shrugged again; that innocent little grin that Anna loved still ever present in his lips and cheekbones (he had a skull now, and bones. That was really weird). He shook his head abruptly as if remembering something important. "Why was Elsa leaving in such a hurry?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. Though Olaf appeared as an adult, he had the mannerisms of an eight-year-old.

Anna had to chuckle a bit. "She was late for her date."

"Ooh!" Olaf had both his hands on either side of his face, a movement that, though adorable on a snowman, looked a little weird on a human-man. "Who's the guy?!"

"A visiting prince." Anna shook her head as she held back a laugh. "Prince Alexander of Denmark."

"Well, I'm sure he is just amazing." Olaf grinned about as widely as Anna was pretty sure was possible.

The princess laughed, "Perhaps."

ooo

Elsa sprinted through the castle as fast as she could, her riding boots landing heavily on the floor with each hurried lunge forward. It wasn't until she reached the courtyard that she finally stopped to catch her breath before she went to meet the prince. The grandfather clocks spaced out throughout the castle went off signalling fifteen minutes after the hour. She closed her eyes to gather herself, took a deep breath trying to make up for the run as quickly as she could, and headed out at a more casual pace into the courtyard toward the stables.

Where the horses were kept smelled as foul as ever, but the queen almost welcomed the scent. It was a change from the perfume of roses and lilac that indicated her status to something a little more rugged and less... prissy.

Alexander was waiting for her, but he looked anything but impatient. At the far end of the stables, he was interacting rather animatedly with Anna's horse Aksel.

The prince was smiling happily as he stroked the large stallion's white snout. "You're quite a handsome horse, yanno?" he said, his voice not quite cooing like he was talking to a baby, but more like he was talking to an seven-year-old that likes to receive compliments, just not _babying _ones. He patted the horse's snout. "You remind me of my buddy back home, Jaques. He was a gift to me from Princess Rosaline of France... She wanted to marry me, but she wasn't really my type, yanno?"

Elsa had only opened the door a crack to listen to the one-sided conversation from man to horse. Though she may have had less-than-kind feelings toward the man, that little interaction with the horse softened her enough that she actually felt confident that she could treat this man with some sort of respect. Without any other announcement of her presence, she pushed open the door completely and placed a heavy barrel in front of it to prevent it from slamming shut behind her.

She watched with some amusement as Prince Alexander jumped with surprise at her appearance. "Good morning, your majesty," he said, bowing, some shock still left lingering in his tone.

Shaking her head slightly, a little smile playing across her lips, she curtsied. "Good morning, your highness. I'm sorry I'm late, but my sister needed to give me a little push to get me going today."

Her face was soaked with apology and the prince recognized this. He hardly could blame her majesty for having a difficulty with emotions during such a hard time. He probably wouldn't have acted much different had he been in her situation. "I completely understand, Queen Elsa." He bowed his head and looked around at the many horses in the stable. "And which one of these beautiful beasts is yours?" he asked.

Smiling, Elsa approached the second stall on the right where a beautiful, black mare stood. She seemed to be drinking from her trough, but when Elsa knocked on the wood of the cubicle she turned to see her and poked her head over the door to be stroked. The queen happily obliged. "This is my baby, Britta," she introduced, patting the horse on her neck. "I've had her since she was just a colt." Sighing, Elsa began running her nails gently against the animal's fur. "Sadly, Britta hasn't been ridden much since I got her. I've tried to make up for it the past couple years, but I've had other responsibilities."

When Elsa turned to look at the prince, he was standing next to her, running a hand through Britta's thick mane. "She's beautiful." He looked at Elsa and smiled.

Smiling back, the queen pulled open the stall door. "Pick your steed, your highness!" she said, gesturing at the rest of the horses and grabbing her saddle from a shelf near her. "The day is only so long and there is much of Arendelle to see."

As Elsa was prepping her horse for the ride, the prince selected a copper colored mare just across from Britta.

"That's Eira." Elsa commented as he began to saddle the horse. "She's a sweety, but doesn't respond well to a heavy hand." She tightened the straps on Britta a little. "She was my mother's horse. She's old, but still going strong as long as she's not weighed down too much."

The next look that Alexander gave her seemed to be that of sympathy. Was he sympathetic because her mother was dead? Was he having second thoughts about his choice of horse?

Deciding that it was probably a mixture of both, she added, "You _can_ ride her. Poor thing hasn't been ridden in ages. She'll probably love you forever if you take her out." Elsa smiled encouragingly for the prince to finish putting on the saddle. He did, and they lead their steeds out of the stable together, the prince and Eira following close behind Elsa and Britta.

Once they had led their mares to the castle gates, Elsa lifted herself onto Britta so she was riding sidesaddle. Alexander quickly followed her lead, straddling a happy Eira, and they set off at a walk onto the bridge and into town.

Upon passing the first couple of cottages, some of townsfolk began to notice the royal couple riding through. They slowly trickled from their homes and business until soon the streets were lined with people and children waving and cheering them forward. Elsa smiled and waved, letting the image and the emotion of the crowd sink in. They didn't hate her, and that meant the world to the self-conscious queen. Next to her, the prince waved a bit too, though he flushed brightly when he heard people shouting, "Marry her!" at him.

Elsa turned to look at the prince. He was already looking nervously her way, and she gave him a sympathetic shake of her head with a small smile. _Sorry, _the queen mouthed, quite certain that even if she yelled he wouldn't be able to understand her over the crowd.

As they neared the edge of the town and the farmland beyond, the townsfolk began to dissipate and Elsa could hear herself think again. The fields on either side of the road were golden with growing stalks of wheat that waved and rustled in the gentle, easterly wind. The air was fresh and warm and the queen could almost imagine what it'd be like to not have all the burdens that were weighing down on her. She looked down at her gloved hands that gripped Britta's reins. Almost.

Elsa brought Britta to a steady trot, moving several yards ahead of the prince before he quickened his pace as well to catch up and even move slightly ahead. The queen's eyes narrowed mischievously as she watched Alexander's back bounce up and down ever so slightly on Eira.

Turning around, Alexander saw the sly little grin playing with the queen's countenance. He raised an eyebrow, practically seeing what the queen intended to do, but not soon enough. Elsa dug her heels into Britta's sides and was off at a run down the dirt road, zipping past a startled prince and steed. She was no longer riding sidesaddle. Though it might not have been very lady-like, she selected that particular dress because it allowed for straddling her horse should the need arise. She counted this as need arising.

The sound of Eira's hooves against the ground behind her began to get faster and louder as the prince attempted to catch up to her. Turning around to see how close Prince Fancy-Pants was getting, she saw him just a few yards behind. His face was radiant with a competitive grin. For some reason, this struck Elsa as enormously funny and with a snort of laughter, she urged Britta forward even faster. Dust really began picking up around them as she and the prince raced through the farmland and into the woodland.

Laughing and out of breath, Elsa slowed Britta to a trot so the prince could finally catch up.

Once he caught up to the queen, Alexander slowed to her exact speed and smiled at her. "You ride exceptionally well, your majesty."

"Call me Elsa, please," she replied, patting Britta appreciatively on her neck. Her good mood fluorished in the safety of the wood. "And thank you."

They rode on in silence together for about a half mile before the prince spoke up again. "Your people really love you, Elsa."

Elsa sighed, her mood lessening by the second. "I guess you could say that."

They both slowed to a walk while Alexander looked questioningly at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Elsa closed her eyes and pulled Britta to a stop. Alex stopped just a few feet ahead of her and coaxed Eira around so he could look at her. "I mean I don't really deserve it." She looked up at the prince, her face impassive but for the sadness in her eyes.

There was a small clearing to their left where a few fallen trees would serve well as benches. The prince gestured toward it and asked, "Would you like to take a breather?"

Elsa sighed and nodded, getting off Britta as delicately as she could while straddling the saddle. Once both she and Alexander had their feet on solid ground, they led their horses into the clearing and tied them to one of the stronger branches of the fallen trees.

The trunk was rough and splintered, but Elsa was no dainty princess to avoid sitting just for that reason. She was about to sit when the prince held out a hand for her to stop. As she stood back up, confused at first, the prince's suit coat was off of his shoulders and he placed it on the trunk where Elsa was going to sit. She looked down on it, frowning, then looked back up at the prince, wanting to say something to the effect of, "Wha-huh-ner-bu-what?" but decided that gibberish likely wouldn't express what she wanted to get across.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "You... You'd tear your dress..."

Elsa smiled a little, but was still a little perturbed by the act of chivalry as she sat down lightly on the jacket.

The prince sat down about a foot away from her and sighed. "I'm trying to understand you, Elsa... You're not like any queen or princess I've ever met." His fingers drummed nervously against his thigh. The harmonic birdsong chirped all around like background music to The Play of Life.

Elsa said nothing. After a quiet stretch, she finally slouched forward, resting her chin in her hands, relieving herself all pretense of being regal. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult," she finally muttered.

Chuckling a little, the prince shifted his body so he was in a more casual position. "I would think it'd be a compliment... So many of the royals in Europe, men _and _women are just so..." His face screwed up as he searched for a word. "Overly self-assured, I guess? I mean, they either are loved by their kingdom and aren't worried about a thing they do or their hated by their kingdom and _still_ aren't worried about a thing they do. They might as well be gods." His eyes seemed to search the ground for something as Elsa slowly became curious as to what he had to say.

"But you..." he continued, hunting for the right way to say what was on his mind. "You have more right than them all to be considered a goddess..."

Elsa's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed pink, but she remained quiet.

"You're so beautiful, and you have... a gift that no one else has..." He nearly said 'ice powers' but thought better of it. "Everyone loves you. What happened two summers ago... That's in the past. You came through. You 'reformed' I guess you could say." He put the word 'reformed' in air quotes, not really thinking that she ever need to be reformed, but couldn't think of a better word to use. "Everyone appreciates what you've gone through now that they know, and yet you're still so unsure of yourself." He glanced sideways at Elsa who was watching him carefully, but revealing no other emotion.

He sighed and ran a hand through his wavy, light brown hair. "You've done so much for your kingdom since your coronation... I don't think I've ever seen happier townspeople..." He paused in thought for a moment. "Except maybe in Corona, but you've met Rapunzel." He laughed a little at that, and to his delight, so did Elsa.

"She is quite the powerhouse for sure," she replied with a chuckle and fidgeted with the skirt of her gown.

"But Elsa." He turned his body slightly so he could be more engaged with her. "You are too. Last night you told me that part of being a ruler is being strong, even if you don't believe you are."

The queen cringed inwardly at the memory of her poor self-discipline at that particular moment in time, but the prince didn't seem to notice.

"I want you to know, your majesty, that _I _believe you are stronger than any ruler I have ever met. You're apparent love for your kingdom and your family is inspiring and, in my opinion, it takes a lot more guts to love than to have any other emotion." Resting a hesitant hand on Elsa's shoulder, he caught her eye. To his surprise, she stayed there. "I don't know a lot about your history, but from what I understand, you spent a lot of your life hiding from everyone that mattered most to you."

Elsa's eyes averted guiltily toward the ground. She still carried so much shame from the years she spent almost exclusively in her bedroom... sending Anna away almost daily to prevent her from coming to any harm, but the prince tried to remain steady with her.

"You've pent up your emotions for far too long, Elsa. What happened two summers ago was a result of those thirteen years of pressure building and you know it." He squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "If you start that again, it won't get better, you'll just..." He cleared his throat quietly. "You'll just freeze another summer."

Elsa wanted to curl up in a ball of royal shame. He was right. This man was actually intelligent. Another wave of guilt for her behavior the other day washed over her like high tide. "I'm sorry..."

Of all the responses he could've gotten, an apology was not one that Alexander expected. "Sorry for what, your majesty?"

"I'm sorry I called you 'Prince Fancy-Pants'..." she muttered quietly, smiling with embarrassment.

The prince raised an eyebrow, a smile spreading across his face like a wildfire. "I'm sorry... You called me what now?"

His amusement was obvious enough that Elsa felt it was alright to say it again a little louder. "Prince Fancy-Pants."

Alexander's chuckles grew in volume until he was practically rolling with laughter. The queen couldn't help but join in. His laugh was really just... pleasant and infectious. Elsa looked up at the sky and inhaled deeply, letting the happy moment set in. The sun was high enough in the sky that she was quite certain that it was around noon, perhaps even a little after. Her stomach growled in affirmation.

To the queen's embarrassment, Alexander heard. "I suppose that means you're about as hungry as I am," he joked, resting a hand on his stomach.

"I guess so." Elsa stood and looked around the clearing. "We probably should head back," she suggested, looking toward where the horses were grazing, but just as she made the suggestion, Britta reared back and started to whinny loudly, spooked by something. It had a domino effect on Eira who began to respond in kind.

The queen and prince looked at each other briefly with surprise before rushing to the horses to try to calm them down. In an effort to keep the two mares from hurting each other, Elsa hastily untied Britta from the branch and tried to pull her away from Eira, but rather than move with her, Britta bolted. The queen yelped as she was knocked over the trunk and landed awkwardly on her upper back, her dress all cattywhompus from the fall.

Seeing the queen fall over the trunk, he left the frightened horse and rushed to her, but not before seeing the cause of all the ruckus. A little, green garden snake slithered through the grass and back into the brush. Elsa was already trying to get herself back up, but Alex offered a hand and soon she was on her feet and covered in dirt and splinters.

"Are you alright, your majesty?" he asked hurriedly, lightly brushing dirt off her shoulders.

Elsa pushed his hands away and began brushing herself off. "Yes, your highness, but please call me Elsa."

"I'll call you Elsa if you'll call me Alex," he replied, half annoyed and half amused about the double-standard the queen seemed to have when it came to respectful treatment, and plucked a few small twigs from her white-blonde braid.

Elsa sighed and gave up trying to brush off the dirt that coated her backside and smiled at the prince. "Fine, Alex." She shook her head with some exasperation at the pretty unexpected predicament she found herself in. "How do you feel about walking? With all due respect to Eira..." She looked over at the copper mare who had finally calmed herself down and started eating the grass again and whispered, "I think she's old enough that the trip back to the castle with two people on her back would probably kill her... That's why you lost our little race." She smiled a little and winked.

Alex laughed softly. "That's alright with me. Will Britta find her way back to the castle?"

"Oh sure." Elsa shrugged. "But if she's not back by tomorrow morning, I'll send some guards out to find her. She won't go far."

They headed back to the castle on foot with Eira in tow. The ice effectively broken between the two, no pun intended, the three to four hours of hiking was enough for Elsa to think that maybe... just maybe... he would make a good king after all.


	17. Beware the Frozen Heart

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Seventeen:**

**Beware the Frozen Heart**

_**Author's Note: Please be warned that this chapter contains almost all of the content that makes this fanfic rated T . It's slightly sexy and includes a miniscule amount of W/W. Enjoy!**_

As twilight faded into a diamond-studded night, Elsa was lying on top of her covers, alone in her bedroom, mulling over the events of the day in her mind like she was watching a play, a satisfied smile on her face. She had to admit that she enjoyed almost every minute of time she spent with Alex after the initial awkwardness of breaking the ice. Was she in love with him? No, but she had started to appreciate him as a friend and a potential ally in the coming years, maybe even indefinitely...

She sighed as the idea of marriage began to skate into her thoughts. As much as she liked Alex as a person and friend, husband was really stretching it. Maybe she was just too proud. She didn't really feel like she needed a king at her side, or even wanted one. She was doing just fine on her own up until the fiasco at the wedding reception... As soon as that mess was taken care of, she'd probably do just as well again.

Closing her eyes, she positioned her body so that her head was now lying on the pillow and she was curled up on her side. Even with all that considered, she couldn't get what he had said to her earlier out of her head. She did have a nasty habit of hiding up her feelings until they exploded out of her with shards of ice as shrapnel. Anna was a good sister and friend, but she had her own life to start now with Kristoff; Elsa couldn't rely solely on her for emotional support forever.

The book on her bedside table seemed to call out to her, but she didn't really like reading by candle light. It strained her eyes too much. She did pick it up though and flipped through the pages. It was a novel about the gods of Asgard and the wars that they helped the mortals win. She had read it many times, but it never got old. Though the words flew by in a blur so that she didn't absorb anything, she enjoyed the feeling of the old, ink-laden pages on her fingertips. She stopped at a painted image of Loki, the trickster god. As an avid reader and book lover, Loki was probably her favorite. He certainly made things interesting, if a lot more difficult, for the heroes. Elsa had to laugh at the irony of that. Loki must've been having a field day with her life, and if she was being perfectly honest, she'd rather he stopped.

The candle had almost reached it's end when Elsa decided to lay the book, and herself, to rest. She had to remember to ask a servant to bring her a new candle the next day; she'd had that one since before the reception. It was surpising that it had lasted that long.

Yawning, she pulled the covers over her and put out the candle, allowing the darkness envelope her.

ooo

Faust was a patient man. After the candlight disappeared from beneath the queen's bedroom door, he waited. He watched the clock across the hall carefully. He would be making his move at midnight.

Seconds ticked by slowly. Tension mounted in the man's shoulders every time the minute hand shifted. It was a long few hours. Did he care that the queen would die? No... Then why was he sweating? He glanced over at the other guard warily. There was no way he would know, but Faust's thoughts felt so loud in his mind that he almost was worried that he would hear them.

The lantern light that lit the corridor flickered ominously and the assassin continued to eye the clock. Five more minutes.

ooo

The door to the queen's bedroom creaked open. Though in reality the sound was insignificant, it was deafening in the murderer's ears. He stopped just inside the door, allowing his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness, before slowly shutting the door and locking it.

A tiny click stirred Elsa's dreaming just enough that deep sleep escaped her. She rolled over off her side and onto her back, but her eyes remained sealed shut.

With great finesse, a long, wicked looking dagger was slid from it's sheath. The moonlight that entered from the open window to the balcony glinted off the polished metal eerily, a hazy light reflecting off of it and onto the wall of the bedroom. One could almost see it's thirst for blood.

The queen's sleep suddenly became troubled. A light breeze had been blowing outside for several hours, but as chance would have it, a heavy gust of wind threw the shutters against the wall, startling her awake. Her ice blue eyes flashed open to stare at the ceiling and instantly heard someone approach her hastily. She raised her head to look about the room and the only thing she noticed in the darkness was the shiny effect of moonlight on metal and a dark figure that held it at her bedside. Before she even had time to be scared, a rush of adrenaline rolled through her in a stream of energy. The covers were gone as the knife began to fall and the queen was on the other side of the bed, an anger burning in her eyes like an open flame.

Faust regretted.

Too angry for snow, Elsa conjured a hailstorm instead. The shards of ice that struck the man's face might as well have been glass in the icy cold and howling wind. The dagger fell to the floor as he fought to stay on his feet. The ice cut open his face and hands and tears of blood streaked down his neck. He didn't even notice how much the queen's storm was moving him until he reached the balcony that was now wide open and beckoning.

His eyes widened with fear as he gripped the wall desperately. "Your majesty! Stop! Please!" he cried out.

Elsa looked at the helpless assassin with a cold and emotionless glare. She had already recognized him from the banquet the other day. He was a guard, Faust, that she had trusted. He was a traitor. "Likely" was all she said. The storm didn't cease, rather, an especially large piece of hail flew into the man's face, blinding him and forcing him to release the wall. With one final, heavy gust of ice laden wind, the balcony wall might as well have been an extra step on the stairs that you didn't expect to be there. The storm didn't stop until the man's screams went silent.

The ice fell to the bedroom floor like they were marionettes that had their strings cut. Elsa was breathing heavily as the adrenaline began to fade and exhaustion began to take over. The mattress rushed up to greet her as she collapsed onto it. What did she just do? Where was the other guard? She had been so scared, so distracted, she didn't even bother to wonder how Faust managed to enter her room.

She stood quickly and ran to the door. It was locked from the inside. She reached for the spare key she kept over the door and fumbled shakily with it trying to get it into the lock. Her whole body trembled violently until she could no longer hold the key in her hands. It fell with a quiet clink to the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes and she placed her hands heavily against the door and banged it as hard as she could with her palms.

"Help..." she whispered, letting her forehead rest on the wood.

"Oh Elsa."

The queen froze, clenching her fingers into tight fists as a light hand rested on her shoulder. This was it. She was going to die.

"You've been one lucky little whore, I must say." The voice was a vaguely familiar one, belonging to a woman. "Though, I have to admit, if I really wanted you dead you wouldn't have lived to even see your sister born."

It took a surprising amount of courage for Elsa to face her Loki. Her breath was shaky and rose up in a cool, white mist, but the room had not changed in temperature at all. The woman before her was astonishingly young with a pixie-like cut of white-blond hair not so different from her own. Even in the semi-darkness of the moonlit room, Elsa could see the frigidity in her grey-blue eyes.

"Wh-who are you?" Elsa began to shiver in the warm room.

The woman shrugged theatrically; a snowy ball of magic appeared in her hand and she began to play with it carelessly like it was nothing more than a ball of rubber. Fear gripped Elsa's heart. She wasn't the only one with the ability to harness the power of winter. The woman replied, "Oh, no one of consequence... Yet." With a casual flick of the woman's wrist, Elsa's back slammed against the door and she froze there. No ice touched her, but the woman's magic held her fast nonetheless.

She closed in on Elsa like a lioness stalking her prey and whispered, "You're scared, aren't you?"

Elsa's breathing quickened and her heart raced. She wasn't just scared; she was terrified. Ice inched it's way over the door until she might as well have been stuck to a block of ice. "What do you want?" The question felt fuzzy as it past over her lips.

The woman smiled. "I merely want to ease your suffering."

Before the queen could process what was happening, the woman's body was pressed firmly against hers, and a pair of wandering hands felt up her waist to her chest. If breathing came difficult before, it was now nearly impossible.

The woman's lips were right against her ear as she whispered, "Pesky things, emotions, aren't they? Just as you start to feel solidly on your feet, something happens and they rip the ground from under them."

The closeness was overwhelming. Elsa could feel something unknown stirring from deep in her stomach. With a life that was a rollercoaster of so many drastically different emotions, the unfamiliarity and the intensity of it horrified her.

"What are you feeling right now?" the woman asked, pressing her forehead against the queen's so she could look her right in the eyes. "Are you excited?" A smirk manipulated her lips. "Does that frighten you?"

Heart pounding against ribs like a battering ram against the castle gates, Elsa swallowed bitter bile, choking out a whisper for mercy. "Please... stop this..."

A wicked chuckle escaped from the woman's lips. "Don't worry. I will." She tilted her head slightly and leaned in even closer, their lips now almost touching. "You'll never have to feel like this again." The woman's lips pressed hard against Elsa's.

Something cold seemed to emanate from the woman's lips and travel into the queen's chest like a cold stream freezing mid-flow. An icy numbness penetrated her heart and soul and all attempts at coherent thought were futile.

The witch made sure the queen was completely paralyzed with cold before she pulled completely away from her. Her spell was complete.

Charlotte smiled as her revenge collapsed to the floor in a pathetic heap. If Elsa's parents were unable to rue the day, she certainly would.


	18. A Price to Pay

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Eighteen:**

**A Price to Pay**

_**Author's Note: FINALLY. **_

No one knew anything was wrong until early the next morning. A young man went out to feed the horses and discovered Faust's broken body beneath the queen's balcony.

The alarm was raised and, of course, Anna ran straight to Elsa with the master of the guard hot on her heels. What she saw when they reached the corridor stabbed at her heart with the force of a charging bull.

Isaac, the guard that had been stationed outside of Elsa's bedroom that night with Faust, was dead. There was no blood. Someone surprised him and knocked him over the head hard enough to kill.

A horrible dread filled Anna's soul like a grave. She ran to Elsa's door with tears falling so fast it was a miracle she could even see where she was going. She went to the door handle and tugged desperately. It was locked from the inside.

_No... No, no, no! NO! _"Elsa!" Anna cried, her entire fist pounding on the door almost as if she were the one who was trapped. Her fist began to bruise as the beating of the door intensified. The guard, Carlisle, came up behind her, picking her up to clear the door. "ELSA!" Her cries turned into horrible screams as she fought against his arms.

Kristoff had been trying to find Anna all morning since the alarm, but he finally found her at the right moment. As he turned the corner, he ran toward the two struggling people, took his exceedingly distressed wife from the guards arms, and held onto her tightly. With the exchange, Anna's screams turned into heart-shattering sobs as she gripped her husband as tightly as she could.

With three heavy shoves, the door to Elsa's bedroom crashed open. Breaking free of Kristoff's arms, Anna bolted for the door. The room was completely glazed over with ice. It was so cold, her tears froze to her cheeks. Stepping through the splintered door, she found her sister lying in a sad heap to the side of the door. She was still in her nightgown, and her loose, white-blond hair laid over her face and splayed out over the floor.

"Elsa..." Anna fell to her knees and crawled disbelievingly toward her best friend and sister. Shock had set in to Anna's bones, so all she could do once she reached Elsa was clear the hair from her face and rest her head on the queen's chest. Her head bounced right back up though when she heard a steady, if quiet, heart beat from within. Hopes rose, though she knew it could have easily been a trick played on her ears, and Anna knelt by her sister's head, lifting it onto her lap. Combing through her hair, she whispered, "Elsa?"

Kristoff and Carlisle entered the room, but stood off at a distance to give Anna space.

"Come on, Elsa... I know you're in there..." Anna's eyes began to produce tears again. "Please, Elsa..." Her voice cracked as she caressed her sister's cool cheek. "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Elsa's eyelids twitched infinitesimally, but it was enough. The princess's heart leapt and she looked to the two men by the door. "She's alive! Help me get her to her bed!"

Kristoff looked hesitantly toward the bed. "Um..." It was solid ice. "Perhaps, we could move her to a... more comfortable place?"

"Oh." Anna saw the bed too and glanced back down at Elsa. Even unconscious, the woman looked troubled. "There's a guest room downstairs on the next floor... Can you get her there?"

"I'll get her there, my lady." Carlisle approached Elsa and Anna and carefully took the queen up in his arms and left the room, followed immediately by Anna who was followed immediately by Kristoff.

They had almost reached the staircase when a frenzied pair of footsteps ran up them. When the owner appeared at the top, Anna was surprised to see that it was Prince Alexander of Denmark. She hadn't really talked to Elsa about how their little date went, but she knew they were gone for hours, Britta had bolted, and Elsa didn't hate him anymore.

The prince saw Elsa unconscious in the guard's arms and his worried face fell into of that a dazed shock. "Oh gods..." he whispered and turned to Anna. "Please tell me she's not..." His face was a pallid green color like he was going to be sick.

"She's alive," Carlisle said, "But her bedroom is frozen solid. We're taking her to the guest room right downstairs."

Relief flooded into Alexander's face and stance like high tide. "Thank the gods..." He moved quickly to the side and followed the party back downstairs and to the guest room where Carlisle rested Elsa on the bed.

As her head hit the pillow, Elsa let out a low moan that sounded as if she were in pain. Anna rushed to her side and held her hand tightly. "Elsa, it's ok. I'm here."

The queen's eyes flickered open slowly and gradually, until they gazed tiredly at the princess. "Anna?" she whispered.

Anna couldn't keep the smile of complete happiness from forming. "Yes, Elsa, I'm here."

"Faust... Is he dead?" Elsa asked, her voice quickly gaining strength as memory of that night filled her with an icy stabbing of anger.

Not knowing how the guard had reached his demise, Anna nodded her head sadly. She had though that this would upset Elsa. "Yes."

"Good."

Anna's head jerked back, startled by the cruelty in the queen's single syllable. "What do you mean, 'good'?" she asked.

Alex was just noticing that Elsa was awake. Carlisle and Kristoff had left, but he had stayed with Anna, even if he was just hovering in the corner.

"I mean that he was a traitor and tried to kill me." Elsa replied. Her eyes were dark and distant. It took Anna a few moments, but she finally put together a pretty good idea of how Faust ended up pancaked.

She shook away the deeply disturbing thought and asked the next thing that was on her mind. Since Elsa's alive and if her guess of what happened was true (which it was; Anna's a smart girl)... "How did you end up unconscious? I..." Anna took a deep breath. "When you didn't open the door, I... I thought you were dead."

Elsa didn't even contemplate telling the truth. "Must've been shock, I guess." She removed her hand from Anna's and pushed herself up. Anna tried to stop her, but she gently brushed away her arms. "I'm getting up, Anna."

Anna backed away. For the five minutes or so Elsa had been awake, she already seemed like a whole different person.

As she got up, Elsa noticed the prince standing quietly in the corner of the room. She curtsied sarcastically in her nightgown. "Enjoying yourself, your highness?"

Anna wasn't the only unpleasantly surprised person in that room anymore. "No, your majesty" he replied, trying to talk past her sarcasm. "I'm quite concerned. Is this an appropriate time to ask if you are alright?"

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Yes. And yes, I'm fine." She turned back to her sister. "I'm going to my room to get dressed. That man we have in the dungeons: when is his trial? It's meant to be today isn't it?"

"Yes..." Anna was watching her sister carefully and honestly was a little scared. "Elsa, I really don't think it's a good idea..."

Before Anna could finish her though, Elsa was out of the room with determined flourish. She turned to look back at the prince who appeared about as dumbfounded as she felt. Their eyes met, each filled with a mutual concern for the queen as they wondered, _'Who's that woman and what happened to Elsa?'_

ooo

It took Elsa all of about a half hour to dress. She hadn't made a dress using her powers since that lonely night on the North Mountain two years ago, but she did then. Was it out of ease or something more sinister?

The news of the third (or, as far as most of the people in the castle were concerned, second) assassination attempt had already passed on to about 99% of the staff. Some people were quite certain the queen was dead, others thought she had disappeared... So as she strode through the castle with her head held high, never looking anywhere other than forward and up, most everyone stopped and stared at her in awe and shock.

As Elsa made her way toward the dungeons, she passed Jenny who was dusting the portrait of the former king and queen. Seeing the queen out of the corner of her eye, Jenny dropped the feather duster and rushed after her. "Your majesty!" she called, but Elsa had already turned a corner and was gone.

The guards that stood in front of the dungeon were less privvy to what had gone on the night before. They had been holding their position since midnight, so seeing the queen walking toward them was less of a shock and more of a "I wonder what she's doing down here."

They stood at attention at the queen's approach. "Your majesty," the guard on the left said.

"Let me in." the queen ordered, looking at the guard straight in the eye.

Somewhat confused by the abnormal behavior of the normally timid queen, the guard replied, "Of course." He pulled the keys from his belt and turned to unlock the door. "Are you aware of Isaac's and Faust's whereabouts? They haven't checked in-"

"They're dead."

The door creaked open and the guard spun around. "What?!" He looked devastated, but the queen remained unmoved.

"Faust killed Isaac shortly before attempting to kill me" Elsa explained coolly, tossing her blonde braid behind her shoulder. "I'm here to speak with the assassin we have in custody. Sort out the confounded mess that a certain group of armed and trained men have failed to prevent."

Her words cut the guard deeply, and garnered the surprised attention of the other guard who had been watching them with a distant and impassive stare. The man wanted to say something, but the queen's eyes warned him no. If Faust tried to kill her, she's alive, and he's dead… The fact that none of the guards knew what happened soon enough to let the dungeon guards know led to one possible answer to the puzzle. The queen killed Faust while defending herself, and was clearly in a foul mood about it… but who could blame her?

"Yes, your majesty" he mumbled and swung open the door to the dungeon.

The guard that stood in front of the prisoner's cell had overheard the entire conversation thanks to a barred window in the door to the dungeons, so it only took a dangerous glare from Elsa for him to open the door to the assassin's cell.

The man who had attempted to kill Elsa the first time still sat in the corner where he had been the previous day when Anna came to visit. Then, he hadn't been much more than amused. However, when the queen herself entered the small and empty room with anger burning in her eyes like a volcanic eruption, he couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose you met Charlotte then" he chuckled, his bright, blue eyes flashing in the sparse light of the cell.

With a brandished arm and heavy clinking of chains, the assassin was off the floor and his back slammed against the wall. Without touching him, Elsa held the man immobile as she approached him furiously. "Tell me what she did to to me, you low life son of a bitch." Her voice was low and almost growled.

The man shook his head slowly as he stared right into her death glare and chuckled. "She freed you, of course."

"Freed me from what?" she demanded. Her fists clenched tightly and the man stirred a little with discomfort, but otherwise he showed no change in demeanor.

"Fear" he replied, a knowing smirk lifting his lips.

Elsa's eyes narrowed as she threw him back to the floor. His body hit the stone with a heavy thud. "That's not all she did!"

With a quiet hmph, the man lifted himself off of the floor and sat back in his corner. "'Course not. All magic has its side effects." He paused to brush some dirt off of his pants. "She may also have removed every ounce of love you've ever felt." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "No big deal."

An icicle with the size and severity of a dagger formed in the queen's hand. "But what about Anna?"

Eyeing the ice dagger warily, he added, "Yeah, well, magic has its limitations too. Doesn't work too well on family members."

Outside of the cell, the guard that had been standing outside of the cell and the guard Elsa had talked to outside stood watching the exchange in horror.

The icicle shattered against the stone just to the right of the assassin's head.

"I sure hope your deal with devil goes poorly for you" Elsa snapped, before turning around to face the eavesdroppers. "I'm done here. Trial over. I want him dead."


	19. What is Left?

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Nineteen:**

**What is Left?**

_**Author's Note: Hi again!**_

Prince Alexander had not left the room. About fifteen shock filled, awkward minutes after the queen took her leave, Anna ran after her, but the stunned prince sat on a hard, wooden chair and began sifting through the myriad of emotions that he was experiencing. The Elsa he had gotten to know the previous day was not the same one that he met that morning. This Elsa was harsh and cold and almost menacing.

While surprise was certainly taking up a large portion of his emotional faculties, there was another feeling that gave him a considerable amount of pain. Heartbreak. Irrational, though it was, Alex had begun to fall for Elsa during their little adventure. She was kind, pleasant, funny... What happened between then and now that seemed to remove all essence of her humanity? He couldn't see Elsa acting that way, especially toward her own sister, for any reason... Even this muddled up situation she was in.

He also had to admit to himself that he thought that Elsa might have been warming up to him as well... Was that a lie? A hallucination?

He stood. He couldn't believe that this was a natural occurrence in Elsa. The memory of the reception poisoning came to mind. No poison in the world could work that fast. The prince left the room to find the troll chief that had saved Elsa that day. He had read plenty of fairytales as a child. Enough to know magic when he saw it.

ooo

When Anna finally found her sister, she was speaking with a butler in the main hall.

"Please tell the wedding guests their presence is no longer required and that they may leave at any time" the queen told him.

"Yes, your majesty." He bowed and went to complete his task.

As Anna approached her, Elsa turned and clasped her hands in front of her expectantly. The princess stopped less than a foot away.

Anna had to steady herself to avoid sounding accusing or angry. She didn't really know what she was feeling. "What's going on, Elsa?"

"I think we've kept our guests here quite long enough."

"No." Anna shook her head. "I mean, what's going on with you? You're not yourself..."

Elsa sighed, almost like she used to. No frustration, no anger... "Anna, you need to understand how serious this is."

"I KNOW it's serious. You're my sister, Elsa. I want you safe, but being angry at everyone isn't going to solve anything!" Anna's shoulders slumped forward tiredly. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to go to the trial... I'm afraid that might not help your mood."

"Oh, there is no trial."

Elsa stepped to the side to walk past Anna, but the confused and upset princess stepped right in front of her again. "What do you mean, 'no trial'?"

"He's already admitted guilt of treason. Our laws are clear enough on the punishment for such an act. A trial would merely give him more attention, not to mention waste time." Elsa stepped to the side again and walked past Anna.

The princess stood stunned for a moment, then spun around and walked quickly to catch up with her. "Elsa! You can't do that!"

Elsa's gait sped up as Anna came closer. "And why not?"

"You know why not!" Anna had to run to close in on the queen and turned so she was standing right in front of her. Elsa stopped short, her face showing a conglomeration of different, conflicting emotions. "Our parents were strong defenders of the law. If they knew you were doing this..."

The mixture of emotions Elsa was experiencing had disappeared, leaving only one. Anger. "Well it's a good thing they're dead then, isn't it?" She snapped. Elsa didn't wait to see the hurt that had begun to spread across her sister's freckled face. Not bothering to try and sidestep her again, the queen pivoted on her heel and walked back the way she came.

"Elsa, you can't!" Anna stood frozen in place with grief as tears fell from her eyes.

The queen stopped for a moment, turning her head to the side. "That's enough, Anna." She turned away again and crossed the corridor. As she turned the corner, she could feel something make its way down her cheek. Reaching up to brush it away, she found that it was wet. She looked down at the glistening tear on her finger tip, and turned back for a moment to the corridor where she left Anna.

Anger began to bubble up inside her as she thought of what that bastard traitor had told her. She looked at the staircase briefly where she had intended to go so she could rest for a spell, before turning back and returning to the dungeons.

ooo

As Elsa stormed to the dungeons once again, an invisible force field seemed to stretch out in front of her, moving everyone in her path to the side. News had traveled about her less than pleasant mood and the servants tended to avert their eyes, but she didn't notice or care.

Even as the queen approached the dungeons, the guards didn't pause to stop her or talk to her. The guard had changed since she had last been there, but the new guard seemed to understand that Elsa wasn't in the mood to be trifled with. He turned and unlocked the door before she even reached them and she strolled in without breaking pace.

The guard outside the assassin's cell seemed to have gotten the memo also. Elsa only had to stop for a moment outside the cell for a moment before he pulled it open for her.

The assassin stopped mid-pace to raise an eyebrow at the queen. "Back so soon, your majesty? Here to kill me yourself?" He leaned back casually against the wall.

"What's your name?" Elsa spat out each syllable as if they tasted bitter on her tongue.

The man shook his head and rolled his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. "Sentences me to death without a trial and she doesn't even know my name." He lifted his head back up and looked at the queen with a small smile of amusement. "Not very nice, that." He paused for a moment. "It's Gulbrand."

Elsa continued to glare at him with an unchanged attitude. "Tell me where she is, Gulbrand."

He shook his head. "And why in hell would I tell you that?"

"Because I could spare your life."

Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "You're lying through your teeth."

"So what if I am?" She was. There was no way she was letting him off any hooks. "What have you to lose?"

Gulbrand rolled his eyes. He didn't care about dying, in fact, that was part of the deal. He was counting on it. Better he hang than experience the alternative. "How about this, I'll just tell you and you don't have to worry your pretty little head about being a filthy, rotten liar? Oh wait, you can't worry can you?" His smile widened, showing a row of slightly yellowing teeth. "No fear. I had almost forgotten."

With great difficulty, Elsa ignored the jibe. "Where is she?"

"The North Mountain."


	20. Strange Magic

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Twenty:**

**Strange Magic**

_**Author's Note: I'm really proud of this chapter... Which probably means it sucks...**_

As a young boy, Alex heard stories about the troll people of the Valley of Stone. He had never once, however, dreamed that they could possibly exist. When he arrived at the wedding and saw that the side of the room that was meant to hold the family of the groom was filled with the little, odd people it was quite a shock he had to conceal. Now, as he traveled at an ungodly pace through the woods in search of them, he couldn't help but appreciate just how amazing, if bizarre, the kingdom of Arendelle was.

On the back of the old mare, Eira, once again (a guard had allowed him to borrow the horse on the sly when Alex told him what his intention was), he followed the dotted lines of an archaic-looking map of the mountains that surrounded Arendelle. The strangest thing had happened as he was leaving the castle. A young, curly haired woman who couldn't have been older than eighteen shoved the antiquated piece of parchment in his hands and, without a single word or so much as a look, continued forward as if nothing had happened. Upon opening the map he discovered a little "x" over a small valley north of Arendelle just short of the North Mountain. In runes just above the valley was one word: stone.

Looking up from the map, Alex glanced around at his surroundings. He was in a small clearing, and on either side of him he could see rocky faces rising above the trees and into the sky. If his navigation skills were as sharp as he hoped they were, this was the fabled Valley of Stone.

The floor of the valley was littered with stones from smaller ones about the size of Alex's fist to huge ones about the size of a small pony. Not wanting to hurt poor Eira trying to maneuver through the mess, the prince slid from her back and stepped around the rocks and peering into the surrounding brush. "Hello?" he called. All he could hear in reply was a rustling of trees and the hum of the summer birds and insects, but giving up wasn't an option at that point. "My name is Prince Alexander... of Denmark." In spite of his cautious stepping, a stone managed to trip him up so he stumbled forward slightly. "The queen is in trouble; I need your help!"

There was silence for a moment and Alex started feeling really foolish talking to the air when he heard a low rumble beneath him. Looking down, he saw that the stone he had tripped over was now a small, female troll that looked like it could've been a child. "Elsa's in trouble?" the young girl squeaked.

Suddenly the rumbling began again, this time it was a hundred fold as the stones rolled into a group in the center of the clearing and surrounded him, echoes of the young girl's question filling the valley. Before Alex was prepared for it, hundreds of the small stone people were staring up at him with wonder and concern.

"Your highness." The troll that had performed Anna and Kristoff's wedding ceremony came forward from the crowd. "What happened to the queen?"

"I'm not sure..." Alex explained, trying to look politely at the troll man rather than stare. "She's... changed."

The troll turned to the little girl Alex had tripped over. "Gunna, go get Grand Pabbie."

Gunna nodded, but before she could go anywhere, the group of trolls parted as a large stone rolled into the clearing and stopped in front of the prince. Alex looked down on it as the stone unfurled itself into the form of the troll chief, Grand Pabbie.

"What has happened, your highness?" The chief's voice was a low grumble, reminiscent of an avalanche.

Alex had to further steady himself before talking to the old troll. "Elsa," he began. "She was attacked again last night." There was a collective gasp from the gathering, but Grand Pabbie continued to listen with a stone face. "She's still alive, in fact she's in perfect health... but she's not herself."

The troll chief's face morphed into an almost indescribable expression, as if he had an idea, but hoped he was wrong. "How has she changed?"

Alex began to notice the necklaces of gems that were around the necks of almost all the trolls, with the exception of the young ones. The necklaces of the onlookers shined brightly, but he looked at the chief's and found that it smoldered like the embers of a dying fire.

"Her entire personality..." the prince replied, not entirely sure how to describe the queen's behavior and do it justice. "Just the other day she was so kind and pleasant and grounded, but now..." He looked up and away from the trolls, into the forest beyond the clearing. "Now she's just so... angry and, well, _un_pleasant." Looking down at the chief, Alex decided that it was awkward and not entirely polite to stand over him the way he was. Taking a knee, Alex looked into the golden eyes of the troll chief. "The poison at the reception, it wasn't normal... It was... magic." Alex sighed and glanced down at the ground for a moment before looking back up at the chief. "Could this be magic as well?"

The troll chief's eyes were distant, concern contorting his face. "You're very astute, your highness. It is strange and dark magic, but magic nonetheless."

"Grand... Pabbie..." The way the chief's name sounded coming out of Alex's mouth was weird to him. "What's happening to the queen? How can we stop it?"

Suddenly the chief looked very tired. "Elsa was not the only woman given the power to harness winter." His gaze fell into the past as memories reappeared before his eyes. "But while Elsa's power was a blessing, the other woman was cursed." He waved a hand in the air. A cloud of white smoke appeared above his head. "The other woman, like Elsa, was to become queen. She was the first born of Elsa's and Anna's great grandfather, King Halvard and her name was Charlotte." Appearing in the smoke was the form of a young woman. Alex stood to watch the scene in the smoke.

"She was a normal girl, not so different from our Anna," the chief continued, "No powers, and she was kind, selfless, and loving to all who crossed her path." Another figure, a woman, appeared in the smoke next to the pre-existing shape. The woman who represented Charlotte curtsied and handed what looked like a bouquet of flowers to the other. "But she also had a secret…" In the smoke, the woman to whom Charlotte handed the flowers, tossed them behind her and wrapped her arms around Charlotte in a kiss.

Alex was slightly taken aback by the scene. He knew that there were a few people who fell in love with those of their own sex, but he had never met, or even seen, one as far as he knew.

When the prince remained silent, Grand Pabbie continued, "On the eve of Charlotte's twenty-first birthday, she and her lover were discovered by a guard on his rounds." A man was now in the smoke. The women parted quickly, but the man ran off. "Scared of what he had seen, the guard returned to the king, Charlotte's father, and told him of his encounter." The king and the guard appeared in the smoke. "The king was furious. Two women would not be able to have an heir, and to have the proclivities Charlotte had was viewed very negatively by the people at the time." The smoke swirled into darkness as the scene changed. "Hoping to dissuade his daughter from her feelings, he had her lover arrested and killed." The scene reappeared in the smoke, Alex had fully lost himself in the disturbing story. The image was of Charlotte again, on her knees and in tears. "Charlotte was devastated. In her sadness and anger toward her father, she ran to the woods to find a witch who, though Charlotte didn't know this, had had a particular resentment for the king." A hunched over, old woman appeared in the smoke. "The witch offered her the power to change her father and create life from lifelessness. In desperation, hoping to bring back the woman she loved and help her father see reason, Charlotte accepted the offer. But the witch hadn't told her the price for the magic, for it was steep indeed."

Alex has a sneaking feeling that he knew what would happen next.

"The spell that was cast on the princess did a lot more than what was advertised, turning her hair white and encasing her heart in solid ice, giving her the ability to control the power of winter, but also erasing all fear and love. It also gave the princess the appearance of eternal youth." The witch disappeared, and Charlotte conjured a simple snowflake from her palm. "Her anger toward the king took over. When she returned to Arendelle, she went to her father, pretending to have seen the error of her ways and promising to marry a man as her father saw fit." The king reappeared as the woman spoke with him. "When the king accepted her apology, she struck him in his heart with her newfound powers." Charlotte flourished her hand and a swirl of ice hit the king and the smoke dissipated into the air. "The king was killed, turned to ice, and Charlotte was banished. Her youngest brother, Faust, who had always admired her, followed her into the wilderness. The second born of the king, Ari, succeeded his father to the throne of Arendelle."

Alex looked back down at the chief, shaken by the story. "So this woman, Charlotte, is still out there? She's the one who did this to Elsa?"

"Yes… She wanted revenge on the family of her brother, who took the throne that should have been hers. She must have learned of Elsa's power when she froze the summer two years ago and thought it the perfect time to begin plotting her revenge." Grand Pabbie looked around the clearing, the group of trolls had curled up into their stone disguise, realizing that they were intruding on something important.

"How do we stop Charlotte? Save Elsa?" Alex asked, the story filling his heart with sadness and dread.

The chief sighed. "Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart."

_**Author's note: Yes, the frozen heart thing again with the true love and all that. But be not afraid! There will be a twist even more twisty than in the movie! **_


	21. The Battle Begins

**For My Kingdom**

**A Frozen Fan Fiction**

**Chapter Twenty-One:**

**The Battle Begins**

_**Author's Note: HaHA! A riveting chapter twenty-one for you beautiful people! Charlotte has kind of turned into a Bond-esque villainess. *shrug* But guess who cares? NOT I! **_

The air slowly began to cool as Elsa rode up the side of the North Mountain. Far above, a summer storm was forming like a cauldron of smoke in the sky. Wind was picking up around her like a spiral and Britta was beginning to become stressed under Elsa, but she continued to push forward anyway... and then lightning struck. Upon the mountain, the boom of thunder shook even Elsa, but it was too much for Britta. She began to rear back in fear.

"Shh... Shh... Britta..." Elsa tried to calm her, but the horse was about ready to bolt. With a frustrated sigh and careful movements, the queen jumped down from her back and led her to a tree and tethered her there. Thunder boomed again, and she fell trying to jump away from the hooves of the startled mare.

"Ugh..." Elsa grumbled as she picked herself up from the ground and left the unhappy horse to her own devices.

Suddenly an icy cold wind swept over the land scape, laced with flakes of snow. Elsa had to shield herself to keep her balance on the mountainside. The dark clouds above began to shed snowflakes, and Elsa knew that the traitor wasn't lying. She was here.

Elsa trudged through snow the rest of the way up the mountain, soaking the hem of her gown almost up to her knees. Over the past two years, the queen had returned to her ice palace a grand total of twice. Once was to give Kristoff a tour, and the other was purely out of nostalgia. This third time, Elsa had a feeling, would be the last time. Either because there would be nothing left when she was done with the witch, or she herself would be dead.

When she reached the intricate staircase, Marshmallow (as Olaf so endearingly named him) wasn't there. Elsa looked around and back behind her toward the forest. When she saw no sign of the over-sized, ice monster snowman, she turned back to the castle, her anger stoked even further. If that hag did anything to Marshmallow…

Climbing the staircase, Elsa could see her. Standing in the doorway to the palace, she had a smile on her face like she knew Elsa would come. Of course, she did. She was supposed to come. Charlotte ensured it.

"Yes! Come, my beautiful girl!" she called to Elsa, gesturing for her to continue forward. "Do you want more?"

By the time Elsa reached the top of the stairs, the woman hadn't moved. Stopping right where the stairs ended, Elsa waited, watching the woman with an inferno of hatred in her eyes.

Charlotte approached the queen with her usual smirk. Elsa didn't move a muscle. "So, Elsa…" she said, resting a hand on her shoulder and leaning in close. "Do you want to…" she paused and whispered in her ear, "make love?"

An icy blast of wind threw Charlotte off of her feet and back, landing her heavily on the floor of the castle with a grunt.

After taking a moment to recover, she whistled with mock awe. "Well damn, Elsa," she said, picking herself back up. Elsa had followed her into the castle. She smiled at her. "You're getting so _good._"

Elsa looked down at the floor as a flurry of snow seemed to crawl over her feet towards the woman.

"But how good _are _you?"

The flurry picked up right before the woman, forming a swirling snowstorm. Elsa took a step back as she watched the storm spin. What was the supposed to do? Make her dizzy? She scoffed.

But with a flash of lightning, the storm transformed. Now, before Elsa, was a huge ice monster that almost looked like Marshmallow, but with razor-sharp icicles forming teeth and spikes that covered his back.

"I know you're not scared, Elsa." she heard from across the room. "But, oh, my dear… You should be."

ooo

After Elsa had left her in the hall, Anna didn't know what to do with herself. Angry and upset, all she could really get herself to do was walk aimlessly around the castle, a pastime she was achingly familiar with. The wedding guests were starting to take their leave. While the castle servants were well aware of the situation with the queen, the guests were ignorant and Anna was perfectly fine with that. Many bade her goodbye and she nodded, thanking them for coming and apologizing for the delay in their return home.

As she weaved through the mass of people, she peered around the room looking for Prince Alexander. Of all the guests that were leaving, he couldn't be one of them. From talking to Elsa the other day and seeing him that morning when he thought Elsa was dead, she knew that there was something budding there and she couldn't let it go away. She was waving goodbye to Rapunzel and Eugene when she turned right into Olaf who was milling around amongst the guests also.

"Woah!" Olaf had to grab Anna to keep her from falling over. "My bad! Hey..." Olaf could clearly see the distress on the princess's face. "What's wrong?"

Anna steadied herself with a hand on his shoulder. "It's... It's Elsa."

"Elsa? Hey, I've seen Elsa! She came through here not too long ago! She seemed in quite a rush." Olaf said, brushing at annoying lock of hair that kept falling into his eyes. He had decided a couple hours earlier that he didn't like hair.

"You mean she was here?" A small amount of hope blossomed in Anna's chest. "Do you know where she was going?"

Olaf shrugged. "No... but she left the castle, I know that. I overheard a little of her talking to a guard..."

Anna listened very carefully, hanging onto his every word.

"The guard said someone named Britta had returned earlier that morning, and Elsa said something about north... but that's all I can remember." Olaf's face didn't seem concerned enough, and that annoyed Anna until she realized that Olaf had no clue what was going on, then she felt bad.

"Did she say where n-?" It dawned on Anna like being doused with a bucket of ice cold water. "The North Mountain..." she muttered, and ran out to the stables, followed by a confused human-snowman.

"What about the North Mountain?" Olaf called, narrowly dodging an elderly diplomat as he chased after the princess.

"That's where Elsa is going. The North Mountain." she called behind her.

The stable boy was just leaving as Anna pushed past him and ran to Aksel's stall. "I need to stop her..." she muttered as she saddled the stallion and climbed onto his back with determination. Stop her from doing what though, was the question. She had a feeling it wasn't good.

"I'm coming with you!" Olaf cried as he stopped next to the horse, panting from the run.

Anna sighed, but nodded. "Okay..."

Olaf grinned and hopped onto Aksel's back too behind Anna. This wasn't what she had had in mind, but she shrugged it off and rode out of the stables.

"Open the gate!" she called up to the guards on the wall as they set off at a gallop through the courtyard. Just as they reached the gate, it was fully open and they were out in the warm summer air.

_**Another Note: Hey, while I was struggling over this chapter, I started a new Frozen/Wicked crossover. It'll be three parts, and I really like it, so if you're interested, please check it out! It's titled "Unlimited".**_


End file.
